If Immortality Unveil
by griffin-queen-of-silver-skies
Summary: CHapter 8 finally up! a Journey through the afterlife, an alternate ending...Emily/Victor
1. heartbroken

A/Nhey ppl! Griffin-queen-of-silver-skies here with my first Corpse Bride fic. I was absolutely enthralled when I found out that this category existed… so naturally I had to write something for it b/c I adore this movie… and the Emily/victor pairing… enjoy! 

If Immortality Unveil 

"Victor… It is time for me to go… you have set me free… I am the corpse bride no longer." Emily, the corpse bride said. She looked into Victor's eyes, the same eyes she had fallen in love with. He put his hand over hers, "But Emily… I made you a promise… to b." She put a finger to his lips before he could finish. "You made a promise to set me free… And you have kept it… Your life is here in the land of the living." She gestured to the other young woman standing behind Victor. "Here with Victoria." That last sentence put a bad taste in the bride's mouth. It pained her heart to let her love go… but deep down inside of her she knew he was doing the right thing… _"But is it right for everyone? Right for me?"_ She thought. Victor was about to say something, but his efforts only ended in a stutter. "Oh Victor… I am absolutely horrible at goodbyes… I want you to forget all about me… go on and live your life the way your were meant to…" And with that she turned to face the balcony of the chapel. Tears were streaming down her face as she walked into the moonlight. Letting out a sigh, the moonlight shone onto her body. Her soul was now free… she was the corpse bride no more. Her body slowly began to vanish, vanish into thousands of blue butterflies. "Emily… EMILY!" Victor called frantically after her, but it was too late, the clump of butterflies had already begun its journey back to the land of the dead. Victor's head drooped slightly, and Victoria came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"So go after her." Victoria said. Victor looked at her with huge eyes… did she know?

"B-but what about y-you?" He said, horribly fumbling with his words

"Victor, I think that you and I can both agree on something. You are a wonderful person, but ever since I met you I felt forced into this… and I'd like to choose a husband for myself… do you understand?" Victor could only nod. Victoria continued "Emily needs you; she's been through so much…" Victoria looked at Victor, and soon after she was wrapped up in his arms.

"Thank you so much for understanding, Victoria."

"I'll never forget you… Victor van dart." She said, gently releasing herself form his grip. She took off her veil and began to walk slowly out of the church. Stopping just before she reached the door, and turning around, she said "Good Luck." And that was the last thing he would most likely hear from Victoria Everglot. Seeing all of this, Elder Gutknecht limped over to Victor, his voice hoarse and aged.

"So you have chosen to return to Emily?" The elder asked.

"Yes… yes I have." Victor said, a certain confidence in his voice. The elder nodded.

"Then I leave you now… The Raven's Elixir takes about three sunrises to make. In which time I think it wise of you to say your good-byes. Then I will return and give you the elixir." The elder said, and finished his sentence with a coughing spell.

"Thank you Elder Gutknecht… I will meet you back here in three days." With that, the elder nodded once again and ushered all of the awestruck people back into the world of the dead.

Back in the underworld, at a familiar place called the "Ball and Socket pub." Emily was sitting on a high barstool with her arms crossed on the bar. Her face showed naught but pain and misery. A green martini in front of her was foaming slightly, it had barely been touched. Bonejangles was taking his bartending shift and had noticed this while polishing some glasses. He walked over to Emily and put his hand on the counter by her arms, she looked up at him slowly.

"C'mon baby, lighten up. I always make you a martini on Wednesdays and you've hardly touched it… He still got you down?" He asked. Emily shot him a deadly "what-do-you-think look." And buried her head in her arms. Some of the foam from her drink splashed out of the glass and landed on Bonejangles' finger. Flicking it off casually he began to speak, when a faint mumbling stopped him.

"It's like he never even cared about me… he didn't even say goodbye." She said, but her response was so muffled that Bonejangles had to put a hand to his ear… Or where it should be.

"Come again babe?" He said. She was about to pick her head up and speak, but her head dropped back into her arms. Knowing instantly that Emily was on the verge of tears, Bonejangles signaled to Mrs. Plum to take over for him. The old woman nodded and walked into the bar. Bonejangles somehow managed to coax Emily out of her seat and out of the pub to the street outside. It took her a minute to register that she had been taken out of the pub, but when she did she blinked her blurry, tear-filled eyes and looked at Bonejangles.

"W-where are we going?" She asked.

"C'mon… obviously you were crying. I figured you could use some fresh air… clear your head and all." Emily said nothing after that, but got lost in her own thoughts. Bonejangles was a hard skeleton to figure out. To anyone but Emily, he was a rowdy, jazz-loving, cool-cat partygoer, but Emily saw a side of him that not even Mrs. Plum had ever seen, He was a kind, caring, gentleman, caring for her like he was her own father. Emily had been so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice a woman carrying numerous boxes in front of her… and walking right towards her. Bonejangles saw this and called out to her. "Emily… Emily… EMILY LOOK OUT!" But it was too late, before Emily could even turn her head to answer him, she and the lady collided. Boxes were flying everywhere, and one of the heavier ones came down on top of Emily's head. Shaking her head a few times to regain clear sight, she saw the lady… and about ten other people staring at her. Looking around, her cheeks flushed a deep blue and she got up and fixed her dress. Standing up she looked at all of the people staring at her… the looks on their faces… tremendously embarrassed, she took one final look at them and took off down the street…

She ran into the old cemetery, the one where she had awoken after being murdered on the eve of her wedding. She walked through the rows of graves, and finding hers she sat down in front of it. Her tears now flowed like rives down her blue-tinted face. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Laying her head up against the marble stone, she closed her eyes… but no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts only led her to victor. That funny way he talked and laughed, and occasionally stuttered. His every move captivated her, and made her love him more. "But now he has Victoria… he has someone to love…" She thought, still sobbing… yes it was true… he and Victoria would soon be married… the thoughts of that made her sick to her stomach. She thought of them… kissing…touching… just generally enjoying one another's presence… He would be the one to comfort Victoria when she was sad… to sit by her side when she was ill. Emily, on the other hand… had no one… she was alone in the afterlife. Her sobs had quieted to mere whimpers now, tears still flowing down her face… But she managed to utter a few small words and a shaky, almost inaudible tone… "If I am no longer the corpse bride… then why does it still feel as if I am bound to that life… the lonely life…" Victor was sitting in his room… he had already broken the news to his parents and was thinking about how strangely well they had taken it…

_"YOU'RE WHAT?" His parents had exclaimed after he had told them he was marrying a corpse._

_"You heard me." He had said "I'm going to drink the raven's elixir so that I may marry Emily… the girl I have fallen in love with._

_"But we thought you loved Victoria!" His mother exclaimed, trying to talk Victor out of killing himself._

_"So did I… for a time… but it was only because I was being forced to marry… I felt obliged to love her." Victor replied, his voice strangely calm.  
"Well… I suppose we can't stop you then… If you're in love…. But we will miss you so." His mother said._

_"Is there any chance of you coming back upstairs to visit us?" His father added, victor nodded._

_"It's possible… Elder Gutknecht can do many wonderful things… and you'll see me again someday, you can count on it." Victor smiled, and he hugged and kissed his parents. Mrs. Van Dort had begun to cry, and Mr. van Dort put his arms around her as he ushered Victor upstairs. "I give you my blessings son… best of luck… and goodbye." His father said solemnly as Victor walked slowly up the stairs._

He sat on his bed, packing what looked like a very small carpet bag with a few of his possessions. Remembering the phrase " you can't take it with you." He hoped the Elder would let him take these things down to the land of the dead. Victor packed a picture of him with his mother and father. They were all smiling… and Victor held something in his arms. It was his dog Scraps. Scraps and him had been reunited just a few weeks ago by Emily. Emily had given Scraps to Victor as a "wedding present." "Emily." he thought to himself…. Oh how he couldn't wait to see her. She took his breath away. Chuckling at the unintended pun he had just made… he thought about when they had first met.  
He was absolutely terrified of her, meanwhile he thought her very beautiful. She had claimed her rights as his wife… and would stop at nothing to keep him hostage there. However, in the time that he spent with her, something had changed about him. She was the first one that had shown him real fun. She took him away from his stuffy, boring life and showed him how to have a good time. In the ball and socket pub, even though it was a fleeting moment, the time she had grabbed a hold of his hands and began to twirl him around (you all know that scene right?) had he really had time to think. He didn't want to go back to his old life… no.. he wanted to stay here. Here in the land of the dead, where people didn't care if he had a little bit of fun once and a while. Here where time stood still…. Here… with Emily. Emily was the whole reason this revelation had come about, but as hard as he tried he couldn't put his finger on what he liked most about her…. Maybe it was everything. He thought abut her personality… her vivacious mannerisms… her flirtatious giggles… the sweet side of her that was rarely ever seen. He loved everything about her… and that made him want to see her even more. He could kick himself twice over for letting her leave… "She must feel awful…" He thought. Victor gave a loud sigh, and began putting other small things into the bag...

Emily sat against her gravestone… it was apparent that she had dozed off for a while, because the sun had gone down. She stood up and walked over to the pond by her grave. Gazing into it, her reflection sickened her. Her blue-hued cheeks were wet and stained with tears, and her eyes had become slightly puffy. Her beautiful hair had become somewhat ruffled from her nap. The look on her face quickly changed to a look of anger and disgust. She kicked the water, watching her reflection contort as the ripples consumed it. Letting out a scream of rage, she drooped to the ever so familiar position on her knees… crying once again. This time thought, she was crying out of sheer misery. All of the emotions she had kept bottled up inside of her now reared their ugly heads again, in the form of crystalline tears. Bonejangles was watching her, he had been watching her the whole time. Checking on her once and a while to see if she was okay, and seeing that she was not, he ran over to her and kneeled down beside her.

" Yo, Emily, calm down… calm down… it's ok." He mentally kicked himself, he wasn't the type for comfort. Looking at the site before him, he placed a hand on her back, rubbing big lazy circles on it, hoping to bring some form of condolence to the bawling bride.

" It's n-not okay." Her voice was nothing but a feeble mumble. " I let him go… but then why do I feel so horrible?" She said, and then her sobs became louder again. " god why did all this happen to me! All I wanted was to live a normal life… if there is anything worse than death I'm the first to experience it!" she howled.

" Aw it's ok babe… you have every right to be mad…" he was interrupted before he could finish

" Who on earth said I was mad? I'm not mad at all…. Because deep down, I know I would have done the same thing in that position." she buried her face in her hands. Bonejangles looked at her, then giving a sigh, he stood and picked Emily up, carrying her towards the town. " it's ok em… it'll all work out for ya… someday…" he whispered. Emily was in no condition to object being carried, so she wrapped her arms around Bonejangles' bony neck and closed her eyes, hoping that wherever he was taking her was better than here. When Bonejangles reached the ball and socket pub, it was way past closing time. Mrs. Plum was sweeping the floor when Bonejangles walked in.

" O dear.. Is everything a-." Bonejangles stopped her with a loud "shush!"

" Sorry Mrs. Plum, but Emily's asleep… and I think it best to leave her that way… poor baby hasn't slept in days."

" Alright BJ, give her to me and I'll put her to bed." Bonejangles put the sleeping Emily into Mrs. Plum's arms, where she stirred ever so slightly as she was carried up the stairs to her coffin bed. Mrs. Plum put Emily on the bed and covered her up with a blanket. Mrs. Plum sighed and shook her head, looking at the sleeping bride before her. " you poor thing… he hurt you bad he did… sleep well… Emily." Kissing Emily's cheek softly, she hurried down to the bar… Mrs. Plum feared for Emily's well-being. She never had any children of her own, so Emily was like her daughter, and she cared for her as such. Stopping only to place something next to Emily, she went back down the stairs into the pub.  
Victor sat at the table by his parents, they had just finished breakfast and were now talking quietly. Victor was a bit saddened by this… it was the last time he would share a conversation like this with his parents.. Well… until they died that is. He looked down at his place at the table, and was about to speak up when a faint tapping was heard. Victor excused himself from the table and walked upstairs… there was the tapping again, only this time it was louder. Victor went into his bedroom, still searching for the source of the noise, he nearly jumped out of his skin. It was Elder Gutknecht, tapping at the window with one of his long bony fingers,

" There you are my boy… I was worried that I had come at the wrong time."

" No, not at all." Victor scrambled to the window and threw it open, and the old skeleton hobbled inside.

" SO victor… are you ready? I have the elixir right here." The elder held up a small bottle filled with a blood-red liquid.

" I am.. But may I go say goodbye again?" Victor inquired, the elder nodded and followed victor downstairs.

" Mother, father, this is elder Gutknecht. He is the one who is going to bring me back to the land of the dead." The elder bowed his head.

" I-it's a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Van Dort said, extending his hand to the skeleton, who took it respectfully.

" I understand any feelings of fear or apprehension you may be feeling now, Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort." The elder said, stopping to only to cough. " but I assure you, your son will be taken care of… Victor… it is time." the elder beckoned for Victor to come forward. Victor did as he was told, and took the bottle from the elder's hands. He was just about to drink from the bottler, but before the liquid touched his lips, he heard his mother weeping, and ran over to embrace his parents. After a tearful goodbye, he stood in the middle of the center hall and looked at the elder

"Victor, as soon as the Raven's Elixir touches you lips, walk around until the weight in your legs overcomes you. Drop to your knees, and all will come to pass… after… we shall return to the land of the dead where Emily awaits your arrival."

" Y-you means he knows I'm coming?" Victor asked, wondering if she was mad at him. Elder Gutknecht only chuckled.

" Not a clue, dear boy… now drink"  
Victor gave one final look at his parents… and drank from the glass bottle. Draining the small bottle in a matter of gulps, the whole room went silent. Victor began to walk around the room until his thin body collapsed into a heap on the floor. His body didn't tremble… and his only thoughts were on his bride to-be. Victor Van Dort was dead… and the whole room knew it… His last breath.. Though short… was wasted on one word… "Emily…."

A/N- so what did you think? It sucked right? I just wanted to get my feelings out cuz personally I was depressed at the end of the movie… SO PLZ REVIEW! And I will update as soon as I can


	2. unite once more

A/N: Hey all! Griffin-queen here with chapter two of "If Immortality Unveil." I'm glad all of you who reviewed enjoyed chapter one. This story is gonna be basically my views on what should have happened at the end of the movie… so that means lots and lots of Emily/victor fluff … I just adore the fluff… so enjoy chapter two! Chapter two 

Emily awoke later that night to the sound of a crow cawing on the fence post. It wasn't until she opened her eyes did she realize that she was in her bed. The blanket had been thoroughly mussed… indicating to her that she hadn't been sleeping too well. Laying her head back on the pillow she turned over on her side, not quite wanting to get up. She felt warm and cozy in her bed (yes, dead people can get warm and cold in my story… they just can't feel physical pain… Strange, I know… but it's me we're talkin about here… I am the definition of strange ) in her own little safe haven where nothing could harm her… well… nothing except for the nightmares. She closed her eyes and put one hand underneath her pillow… she listened to the sounds around her. She heard Bonejangles and his bone band wailing on their jazz instruments, practicing for tomorrow. She heard the late- night hustle and bustle of the town… and another faint noise caught her attention… it sounded like the flapping of wings… and it was coming closer.

Emily sat up on her bed and opened her eyes… seeing the crow fly and land right on her shoulder. She extended a skeletal finger and the bird jumped on it. "You're awfully friendly aren't you little bird?" She said, stroking the bird's chest feathers with her free hand. The bird merely tilted its head to one side and continued to glare at her, before leaping off of her finger and onto the railing that she was facing. The bird let out a raspy "Caw!" from its throat and turned its head, as if pointing to the eerie crescent moon looming above their heads. Emily chuckled "It reminds me of when I was little… I always used to be scared of the moon when it looked like that… my mommy used to sing me a song about it…" She looked at the crow, almost embarrassed with herself for having a fluent conversation with a bird, but she decided that she didn't care. She averted her gaze once again to the moon, and her thoughts began to drift…

_"Mommy… Mommy." A girl of no more than four years cried out. Her wavy brunette hair bounced against her face as she called out for her mother. This girl was Emily. A younger and very much alive Emily. Her face was younger looking and a bit pudgier, as all toddler faces are. Her pupils flickered in the moonlight that was barely illuminating her large room. Her tiny nightgown swished as she stood up, waiting for her mother. The room, however, became brighter when the door was opened. The door swung open fully, and a woman stepped in. This woman was very tall and very thin, but with all the necessary curves. Her blue eyes glinted as she stepped into the moonlit room. This woman was Emily's mother, Devondra, Devondra Holcombe. Emily looked exactly like her mother, except for one thing. Devondra's hair was the purest of platinum blonde, and it fell to the middle of her back in a low, loose ponytail. Devondra walked gracefully over to her distressed daughter and picked her up._

_"What's wrong darling? Why are you up so late?" Devondra asked, her feminine voice echoing throughout the room._

_"I can't sleep mommy… that moon… that moon is keeping me up. It's scary looking mommy… like a knife… or a blade. It's like no matter how I try to look away… it's always there." Emily said, and buried her face into her mothers neck, shutting her eyes tightly. Devondra chuckled and looked out the large window, seeing that her small daughter was indeed right. The moon was a crescent tonight, making it take on the appearance of a curved knife. Then, made Emily face her._

_"There's nothing to be scared of little one… for you see, that moon is only a baby."_

_"A baby?" Emily asked, turning her head to one side._

_"That's right, a baby… just like you." Devondra put a finger to Emily's nose, making her giggle a bit._

_"Mommy! I'm not a baby anymore." Emily crossed her arms in a fake pout, her independence clearly showing. Devondra only laughed and began to walk back towards Emily's bed._

_"You know, my mother taught me a song about the crescent moon, because I was scared of it too when I was your age."_

_"Oh! Oh! Sing it for me mommy! Please?" Emily clapped her hands together, begging to hear the song.  
"Well, alright." Devondra placed Emily into her bed and tucked her in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she began to lovingly stroke Emily's hair, and then she began to sing._

_"There's a wee baby moon lying on his back,  
With his little silver toes in the air.  
He's up there all alone in the big blue sky,  
But the little baby moon doesn't care._

_Baby moon please keep shining for me…_

_There's a little baby moon lying on his back,  
With his little silver toes in the air.  
He's up there all alone in the big blue sky,  
But the little baby moon doesn't care No the little baby moon doesn't care…."_

_Devondra kissed Emily's forehead when she had finished her song, and silently walked out of the room._

"No the little baby moon doesn't care…" Emily sang in a wavery tone, new tears streaming down her face. Those images… the ones of her mother, of that song, it was just too much for her. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes, not even caring if she ceased to exist at that very moment…  
Victor wandered through the empty streets of the land of the dead. It was all so familiar… so welcoming. He felt relaxed in this place; it was a much better feeling than anything he had ever experienced upstairs. Elder Gutknecht hobbled along beside him, escorting him to the ball and socket pub, where his bride to-be was waiting. A wave of nervousness washed over him.

"E-elder Gutknecht… what if Emily is mad at me? What if she found another man to love? What if I made this journey for nothing?" Victor said… His skin had now become a deathly shade of blue, and the dark circles around his eyes had become slightly more prominent.

"Dear boy you worry too much. I highly doubt that Emily would do something like that in a span of three days… but one thing I can tell you for sure is that she's probably in a great deal of pain… she's been through more than you can imagine." The elder said, narrowly avoiding tripping over a dent in the road.

"I was afraid of that… I hurt her so much… but she was the one who let me go… so in a sense she brought it on herself… If she had only let me finish."

"You mean you didn't love Victoria?" The elder asked, now thoroughly intrigued.

"That's the thing… I thought I did… but it was only out of obligation… you see… we were being forced into this marriage. Then I met Emily, and she turned my life upside down for a time, and it confused me because I knew that I was fond of Emily, but I felt obliged to return to Victoria… for I still believed that I loved her at the time… Victoria…" Victor chuckled. "Victoria's just not Emily… there's something… a lot of things actually, about Emily that I just can't describe." Victor smiled.

"She is a wonderful girl, that is certain. We all can't help but feel her pain, because we've known her ever since she came to us three years ago. She did not in any way deserve to die the way she did… that Barkis is such a lowlife bastard." Victor was shocked to hear the elder say something like that, but he couldn't help thinking that he would say the same thing. Victor was about to open his mouth to speak, but the elder continued.

"We all felt Emily's pain; she affected us all in some small way…. She's so young… it pains me to think of all she's seen and been through."

"Yes, that's another question I was meaning to ask you… exactly how old is Emily?" Victor asked. Elder Gutknecht sighed.

"She's only seventeen." Victor was surprised; she was only two years younger than he was. "And as you know, Victor, death is ageless. She will remain in her current state for all of time."

"It's a shame that she had to be killed…. She'll never get to live out a normal live… gosh it makes me so angry," Victor clenched his fists, hoping the elder wouldn't see. "That Barkis killed her like that…. All for her money and looks…"

"We all know that, Victor, there isn't one person in this whole town-."

"Wait, you mean there are towns in the land of the dead?" Victor asked, interrupting the elder.

"How do you think we fit every deceased being from now since the beginning of time down here? This is where everything goes when it dies, be it animal plant or anything else that lives… there is nothing beyond this place."

"Yes, of course." Victor chuckled. "There are so many new things… it's going to take me a while to get used to it."

"Yes, it definitely takes some adjusting, but I must say my boy, you are fitting in quite well… it took poor Emily almost a year to learn all of our customs."

"Emily… I'll bet she was hysterical when she came down here for the first time." Victor smiled, oh how he couldn't wait to see Emily again.

"Actually, victor, she was just the opposite… But oh… let's sit down for a spell shall we? The ball and socket is still a ways away form here and these old bones are getting tired." Victor nodded and he and elder Gutknecht sat on a bench. The elder sighed with relief from his aching bones and continued his story. "Like I was saying, she was just the opposite… When Emily came to us those three years ago… she was in such a state of shock. She never slept, she never ate, she never spoke. She would sit by her grave, with her head up towards the sky, and she would stay there...staring into a void… We all tried to welcome her… to get her to respond to us, but she would have none of it. The emotions you could see glazed over in her eyes dwarfed any I've ever seen before… first and foremost I saw sadness, then fear, anger, desperation, confusion, and the most extreme loneliness you could ever imagine. It took us a very long time to bring her around; it was Bonejangles himself who had heard Emily speak for the first time. He began to introduce her to the people of the town and before I knew it, everyone knew who she was." Victor smiled and chuckled a bit, but the Elder stopped him.

"But beware, Victor, by taking Emily's hand in marriage, you may be undertaking a difficult task. Emily has had a very troubled past, and it was traumatizing in a sense. Knowing this only because she comes to me for support rather frequently. She is very sensitive… This girl has been through so much, which is why I'm not even asking you anymore Victor… I'm telling you...Take care of her." Those last words rolled off the elder's tongue with nothing but seriousness attached to them, the kind of serious tone one might find in a father's voice, one who has been laden with the task of disciplining his son. "I want you to promise me Victor"

"Elder… you don't even have to ask me… I promise… I will care for her… she needs someone to love… and I believe that I can be just the person she needs… she is so different from Victoria… Victoria knows just what she wants in life… and I can't have that…. Which is just one more reason to add to the already infinite list of reasons why I love Emily… she's so spontaneous." Victor was running at the mouth again, one thing that people learned very quickly about Victor is when he was happy… he babbled. The elder only smiled.  
"I'm glad… It's about time that poor girl had someone to love… she's waited so very long." the elder half- smiled at this thought, and the two walked in silence for the remainder of the trip…

"Emily…. Emily… its time to get up love." Mrs. Plum shook Emily's shoulder lightly, trying to wake her. Emily stirred and opened her eyes.

"There you are… welcome back Emily." Mrs. Plum smiled and Emily rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Mmm…" She stretched. "Mrs. Plum? What time is it?" She asked groggily.  
"Bout ten in the morning…did you sleep well?" Mrs. Plum asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Better than I have in a few days… but still not very well." Emily said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to face Mrs. Plum, but before she could say anything, Bonejangles rushed in.  
"Mrs. Plum! I gotta talk to ya!" He shouted, and shoved her down the stairs leading down into the pub. Emily looked on in confusion as they shut the door, and tried to listen in on their conversation, but to no avail.

"Mrs. Plum…. I just ran into Elder Gutknecht as I was comin' back from practicing with the bone band… and you'll never guess who he's got with him." Bonejangles said.

"Oh BJ you know I'm horrible at these guessing games… so why don't you just tell me?"

"Well, I'll give ya a clue… He was alive three days ago… but he chose to come down here… and Emily should be very happy…"

"Oh… surely you don't mean…"

"That's exactly who I mean… Victor's chosen to return to Emily…" Bonejangles looked about as happy as was possible for a skeleton

"Oh! This is wonderful… I'll just pop upstairs and give Emily the g-."

"NO!" Bonejangles shouted. "We can't let Emily know just yet… we should wait till tonight… a surprise ya know?" He said, winking at Mrs. Plum.

"Oh, and she will indeed be surprised… but where will you hide Victor until tonight?

"Aw he can come back to my place! I got this all under control." Bonejangles said in his smooth-talking voice.

"Alright, well you'd better get going before Emily comes down here." And with that she shooed Bonejangles out of the room, where he walked quickly along the street to collect the "surprise"  
He ran down the street, feeling the wind on his bones. After about two minutes of running, he was out of breath and had finally found elder Gutknecht and Victor. He called out to Victor.  
"Victor! YO VICTOR!" he yelled, almost tripping over a crate of blood oranges as he ran to them.

"Bonejangles? Is that you?" Victor said as the skeleton approached him

"The one and only… great to see ya again… and in such great condition." Bonejangles, said while shaking Victor's hand. He was obviously pointing out the fact that Victor was dead.

"Nice to see you again as well… and how is she? Emily I mean." Victor said, beginning to fidget at his mentioning of Emily's name.

"Oh Emily? Not so good… she's gettin' better little by little… but we still can't get her to eat anything, and she's not sleeping well. Every night we hear her from downstairs… she cries in her sleep… I'm telling ya Victor… the girl's upset." Victor looked saddened at this and dropped his head slightly

"Oh… she must be terribly mad at me…I hurt her badly." Bonejangles heard this and put a hand on Victor's shoulder.

"She 'aint mad Victor, she's just upset. She blames herself more than anyone else. She even said to me, and I quote her "I'm not mad at him, because I know he did the right thing, and I know deep down that I would have done the same thing." Victor smiled, that sounded just like something Emily would say.

"Thanks Bonejangles… um… can we go see her?"

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot, see, Mrs. Plum and I were talkin' and we figured that it would be better if we brought you into the pub later tonight and surprised Emily… We've already got a crew together for the whole new arrival thing. You can hang with me for the day until it's time to go to the pub. We'll go back to my place for a while ok?" Victor nodded and turned to the Elder, who was listening intently to the whole conversation.

"Thank you so much, Elder Gutknecht… I don't know what I'd do without you." Victor smiled and offered the old skeleton his hand, which he took once again.

"No trouble at all my boy, and uh, don't ever hesitate to drop by and see me, I do so enjoy visits." The elder said with a smile.

"I will." Victor smiled, and after another handshake, he and the elder went their separate ways. Now they were headed in the direction of Bonejangles' house.

"So, I'll bet you can't wait to see Emily huh?" Bonejangles asked, and chuckled lightly.

"You have no idea." Victor said bluntly.

"Heh heh… Yeah, she's a doll, all she wants is someone to love, to cling to ya know? She is quite a clingy girl…she's such a sweetheart though. She deserved so much better than that lowlife Barkis. Now there's a great example of a genuine jerk… that cat's not welcome in my bar." Bonejangles said flatly.

"The Elder and I were having a conversation similar to this on my way here… He pointed out how sensitive Emily is, but I won't have any problem with that because she and I are similar. As you may know. I am actually quite shy for a male… and it's rather embarrassing because every time I try to have an intelligent conversation … I end up stuttering horribly. So I think Emily and I have a lot to learn from each other. I also admire Emily for her spontaneity …" Victor was mentally kicking himself for babbling again…

"Well daddy-o, I just want you to know that there is absotively… posolutely… NO reason to be shy down here. No one cares, we all get along perfectly, we got no reason to fight, or kill, cuz we're already dead. There's no reason to argue 'cuz it's the end of the line. We all just have a good time… cuz we got an eternity to spend together and we may as well like each other." Bonejangles laughed heartily, and Victor soon followed.

"Yes, I suppose you're right! I think I'm going to like it here… the stuffy Victorian life was not for me." He smiled

"That's the spirit… well, here's my house." Bonejangles took Victor to a building. It was a furniture shop with a door on the side of it, obviously leading to an apartment. They walked up a flight of stairs and Bonejangles took out a key from the rim of his black bowler hat.

"Welcome to my pad Victor, It's not much, but its home. I don't come here often, once and a while to spruce it up, but mostly I'm at the bar with my bone band." Bonejangles said and let Victor in. It was a decent sized apartment, and for someone who wasn't there often it was relatively clean. The walls and carpet were a lively red, as were the two chairs, the sofa, and the coffee table that were in the main room. A glass case was stationed in the far corner of the wall; it was filled with all sorts of memorabilia. Along the north wall of the room, a multitude of records adorned the wall, each one from a different jazz artist.  
"Wow Bonejangles-"

"Please, call me BJ." Bonejangles said.

"Alright then… BJ… u sure do have a love of jazz. I never really could get into it partially because my parents called it unreformed noise." This made Bonejangles jump, and his skull spun around.

"W-W-WHAT! You can't be serious!" When Victor nodded, Bonejangles smacked his bony forehead.

"Oh man…. You don't know what you're missin' man! Jazz is one of the more beautiful art forms. That's because it's exactly what your parents said, it's unreformed. It has no pattern or plan, it's all improvised." Bonejangles said, and put a record form a large case onto a turntable. An upbeat song by the name of "sing sing sing." began to play. Bonejangles tapped his foot to the beat and then walked over to Victor.

"Make yourself at home… Mi casa es su casa… hehehe, can I getcha anything to drink? Your gonna need your energy for tonight."

"Actually, a glass of brandy would be wonderful."

"A fine choice my friend, I was gonna have that myself, I'll be right back." With that, Bonejangles disappeared into the kitchen, and he appeared soon after with two wine glasses full of a reddish liquid.

"Here ya go Victor, cheers!" Bonejangles said as he and Victor clinked their glasses together and took long, quiet sips. Bonejangles drained his glass in a matter of seconds, meanwhile Victor only finished his about halfway. Putting it down on the coffee table, he sat back on the couch, letting the soft cushions consume him.

" Yes… I definitely think I'm going to like it here."

" I knew you would… ever since I first saw you, you looked like a cool cat in need of a good time. Trust me, every day's a party here." Victor chuckled at this statement and picked up his glass, finishing the rest of it.  
For who knows long after that, Victor and Bonejangles were engaged in a lively conversation, it was on of those where they were talking about nothing in particular, just anything and everything that came to mind. Victor was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. As for Bonejangles, who couldn't cry for obvious reasons, was merely on the floor erupting with laughter. Both men had made absolute fools of themselves, and they would have continued… had it not been for a knock at the door.

" Hello? Who's there?" Bonejangles said as he opened the door, surprised at how late it had become. He swung the door open to its full length to find none other than Mayhew standing at the door.

" Mrs. Plum told me to tell you that they're ready for you over at the ball and socket pub." Mayhew said in his usual lumbering tone.

" Already! Damn… I thought it would take them longer… alright, why doncha come in while I get Victor ready." Bonejangles said as Mayhew walked through the door. Bonejangles ran up the stairs to find Victor standing up.

" Man are you ready… cuz they sure are. Everyone's there waitin." Bonejangles said, a certain hint of franticness in his voice.

" Oh.. oh dear.. Well, I suppose I am, you don't have a comb lying around here do you?"

" As a matter of fact I do, I've had it for a long time though." Bonejangles ran down the hall and came out carrying a large case, out of which he took a tortoiseshell comb and a small mirror to match. " I've had this thing for a long long time… well, since I had hair." Bonejangles laughed as he held up the mirror for Victor, who was running the comb through his hair, making sure that it was perfect. After that he handed the comb back to Bonejangles, who took it and put it back in the case. Victor busied himself making sure that his suit was smooth, and his collar as fixed. The two were busy running around when they heard Mayhew clear his throat, signaling to them that it was time to go.

" Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Victor said. " How do I look?" He asked.

"Man you look like a million bucks… but I highly doubt that Emily is gonna care." The two laughed and headed out he door, bound for the ball and socket pub.  
Back at the pub, Mrs. Plum was getting everyone ready to perform… she had asked Emily to go upstairs and clean the bedroom, and she had done so happily, seeing that she was bored out of her mind. Mrs. Plum had just gotten done getting everyone into place when Bonejangles walked into the pub, followed by Mayhew. Mrs. Plum signaled to everyone to start the commotion, and they started at her for a second, but then one by one they all began to shout " NEW ARRIVAL!" and crowded around the door so that victor could walk in without being seen right away. Mrs. Plum quickly waved hello to Victor amidst the shouting crowd and excitedly ran up the stairs to where Emily was. She found her dusting the furniture in the room where Mrs. Plum slept

" Emily dear, it seems there's a new arrival. Would you like to come down and see?"

" No, I don't think so Mrs. Plum." Emily said flatly, sounding as if she'd given up all hope of seeing victor again… well she was very soon to figure out how wrong she was.

" Oh but I think you will want to see this one… come now, you've been moping around the pub for days, it's time to come down and enjoy yourself. Come now." She walked up to Emily and took her hand.

" Alright alright, if you insist… why do you insist?" Emily asked, slightly irked at Mrs. Plum's sudden outburst of pushiness.

" Because I'll not have you moping around here like you have been. Now come downstairs quickly." Mrs. Plum said, walking out the door, and Emily could've sworn she heard her giggling. Emily walked out of the door and began her descent down the stairs.  
The first thing Victor saw, besides general Bonesapart's finger coming towards his eye, was a slender leg walking down the stairs. It was blue in color, and a skeletal leg soon followed it, the legs were followed by a long tattered train of a silk wedding dress. He knew that it was Emily, and watched as she made her way to the last step and into the center of the pub.

She walked down the stairs and into the center of the pub, where she saw the typical welcoming crew screaming about the new arrival, who, despite her efforts, she couldn't see yet. She took a step closer and saw a head of black hair, it instantly reminded her of Victors hair. Shaking her head to clear the memory, she took yet another step closer.

He saw her standing there, and was almost knocked over at how beautiful she was, he blue tinted face was wrinkled in confusion, and a slight hint of agitation. He was about to push through the crowd when he heard Bonejangles say " We thought you should be here to see this new arrival babe.. Surprise!" he shouted, and as if on cue, al of the shouting people moved aside, and Victor was left standing there.. Alone, and he could do nothing but stare at Emily.

She saw his face… his blue skin… and in an instant her eyes became as wide as dinner plates. A sharp, loud gasp was emitted from her mouth, which was hanging open. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the gasp, and her feather duster fell to the floor… slowly and steadily, as if drawn by some unknown force, her feet moved forward. She moved towards him, it was almost as if she anted to be sure he wasn't going to disappear. She saw him extend his hand in a "stop" gesture, and she did the same as she got closer. The whole room was silent, not a soul in the crowd dare make a move, save Mayhew who had to wipe the sweat from his face.

That was it, their hands were touching. Palm-to-palm, they were still at arms length. They were until Victor laced his fingers with Emily's. Feeling this, and taking a tremendous leap of faith, she flung herself at Victor and wrapped her arms around his neck as tight as she could. He felt as if a thousand tons had been lifted from his shoulders, she wasn't mad at him at all… He put one hand on the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her slender waist, pressing her to him as tight as he could, as if he would never let go. His embrace became even tighter when he felt her body begin to tremble, in a combination of happiness and fear. Sobbing slightly, she buried her face in his chest.

The two stayed like this for a very long time, they were so lost in each other that the cheering of the crowd was completely drowned out. Mrs. Plum whispered something to the crowd and ushered them into the lounge, leaving the two lovers alone… Both equally content, they were both equally disappointed when Victor pulled Emily away from him slightly.

" I love you so much Emily… I shouldn't have let you go that night.. . I tried to call you back, but you didn't hear me.." She put her finger to his lips.

" It's my fault Victor... Because I heard you call me, and half of me wanted to go back, but something inside told me that it wasn't right… I couldn't have done that to Victoria… but now… you here… oh Victor." Was all she had time to say before her face was once again hidden by Victor's chest. He pulled her away once more, but only for a brief moment.

" One more thing to make this all complete." Victor reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden wedding ring. " I think, my love, that this belongs to you." He said, and placing the ring on Emily's bony finger, closed the gap between them again. Only this time, there lips were locked in a kiss that burned with more passion than anything the universe had ever seen. .. Once again lost in heir love, neither of them heard Bonejangles shout " this is gonna be the reception to rock the underworld!

A/N- OK, so that was chapter two… I hope you all liked it cuz I sure had a blast writing it. Chapter three is on its way, these next couple f chapter are gonna be 1 regular story and 99.9 fluff… so be warned! You will find no smut in my stories.. Just pure, unrestrained fluff catch y'all in the next chappy, ciao for now!


	3. Invitations

A/N: Hey all! Griffin queen here with chapter three of "if immortality unveil." Before I start I'd like to give a huge shoutout to all of my loyal reviewers… but especially one that stands above them all. She's a great friend of mine and also my consultant… that's right… ELWYNDRA! -throws confetti- thanks so much for all of your help thus far . -hug-. 

P.S- some of you were wondering where I got that little baby moon song that Emily sung in the previous chapter… That is actually a little lullaby that my friend SilverShadowKitsune's mom used to sing to her … so give a big thanx to her for lending it to me . Ok, well that's it for my babbling, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter three

" BJ you know we can't have a reception tonight! we haven't prepared!" Mrs. Plum shouted.

" I know that! Jeez woman don't go breathin' down my neck." Bonejangles said, once again in his smooth talking voice, "These two obviously want some down time, they've got a lot to talk about. Mrs. Plum, what would you say if I told them the reception is tomorrow?" He looked at her

" Well then I guess that would be fine, but that means I won't be sleeping much tonight, or tomorrow for that matter." Mrs. Plum gave a sigh.

"Great, I'll go tell everyone and then I'm gonna he-"

" Oh NO! your staying here with me, I'm absolutely NOT going to do this alone mister." Mrs. Plum said, grabbing Bonejangles' shoulder and dragging it back. He made a small whining sound, almost like a child reluctant to do his chores, but when Mrs. Plum gave him a death-glare, he quickly changed his tune. "Okay people! The ball and socket is officially closing! Join us tomorrow at 7:0 for the wedding reception of Emily and Victor! We are gonna have one hell of a par-tay!" Bonejangles shouted, if there was one thing he was good at, it was rallying a crowd. Pretty soon the whole bar was cheering as they stormed out of the bar. Bonejangles looked around and saw the empty pub, And then he saw Emily cowering in fear by the door. "Yo, Em what's the problem." He said, the she looked up at him.

" Well, apart from being STAMPEDED by a large crowd there's no problem… have you seen Victor? He was here a minute ago" Emily said, looking around, but just then a small noise caught their attention, it was a sort of moaning noise. They looked all around for the source of the noise, and concluded that it was coming from behind Emily.

" That noise is comin from behind you, what do ya suppose it could be?"

"Well I haven't the foggiest, but I think we should do some In- oh dear... Bonejangles, I do believe I've found Victor." She said, and without another word, she turned around and flung the door closed, and there, just like she had suspected, was Victor." Oh my! Victor! Are you alright?" she asked, walking over to him and clutching his arm.

"I'm fine, but now I do believe I know what a pancake feels like." He and Emily both chuckled at this statement. Bonejangles was tapping his foot in a state of faux-annoyance.

"Ok you two, the night is young, why not go out and have some fun. Mrs. Plum and I got work to do back here." Bonejangles pushed a clump of money into Victor's hand. "now out!" He said, while gently pushing the two out of the door. " Well, that was rather rude of him." Emily said. " what do you suppose his hurry was?" She asked.

" Well I think he and Mrs. Plum need time to prepare for the party tomorrow."

"Party? What party?" Emily turned her head to look at Victor, and his eyes met hers.

" Our wedding reception darling." He chuckled softly.

"They don't really have to do that for us…" She said, her voice trailing off. Victor took Emily's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, it is kind of a special occasion, but.. Shouldn't we see about getting you a more casual outfit?"

"Oh, but I'll be so strange, I've been wearing this for how long now." She said.

" that's my point. Emily, do you really want to be reminded of your past? Because that's all that old wedding dress is doing.. Well.. To me anyway."

" Well, no… I suppose not, well alright then, there's a clothing store on the other side of town. It shouldn't take us too terribly long to get there." Emily said. The two walked through the streets of the town. They were greeted warmly by many of the people in the town, and everywhere people were busy with many assorted tasks. Victor was thinking to himself.. Never before had he seen more action. The land of the dead was much more "alive" than anywhere he'd ever seen before. He looked over at Emily, still feeling her hand entwined with his. Her face was aglow with happiness. Her large eyes darted around, noticing everything. He was absolutely entranced by her. Every move she made, he was so busy staring at her that he didn't notice that Emily had stopped walking. After bumping into a vegetable stand and knocking the lemons off of the cart, he turned around to find Emily standing about twenty feet behind him giggling furiously.

" I was wondering how long it would be before you noticed I was gone. What on earth were you staring at?" She asked, finally catching up to him.

"I was staring at you, but you stopped." He said, as he felt her arms wrap around his neck from behind.

" Now why on earth would you be staring at me? I'm nothing much to stare at." She said, being completely honest.

" Oh I beg to differ." He said, making sure that her arms were around him tight enough, they had moved to his shoulders so now he could take Emily by surprise without being choked. He hoisted her off the ground and supported her legs with his hands, being careful to avoid an embarrassing moment with the slit of her dress. She yelped and then started to squeal as he spun her around in circles, shouting for him to let her down, but started to laugh soon after. Stumbling through the streets. Victor, still carrying Emily, who had erupted in laughter, clumsily made his way to a small playground and picnic area. Victor walked into the picnic area, and finally collapsed onto the slightly wilted grass. He landed face first in the grass., laughing hysterically. Emily landed next to him, on her back, laughing uncontrollably. Victor pulled himself up from the ground in a push-up style, and pinned Emily's arm's down where they rested. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, but she soon smiled, in that charming way she did.

" Who's laughing now?" Victor said in a macabre tone. He lowered his face a bit, staring straight into her big beautiful eyes. She used this time to raise her head up and gently pecked him on the cheek. Completely caught off guard, Emily pushed him so that now he was pinned down.

" I believe, my dear, that I am not done laughing." She said slyly, and both of them chuckled and got off of one another. They now sat facing each other on the ground. Victor was still smiling, but Emily's face soon became distant and her smile faded.

" Something wrong Emily?" Victor said, laying a hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her own.

" Nothings wrong… but I have a question…. At our reception tomorrow… do you think that… well I think it would be best if." She was mentally cursing herself for fumbling with her words so horribly.

" Go on… " Victor was surprised at how much she was at a loss for words, it reminded him very much of himself.

" I think Victoria should be present at the party." She blurted out all in one big blob of words. Victor smiled warmly and took both of Emily's hands in his own.

" That's a wonderful idea my love, but why the sudden change of heart? I thought you didn't like Victoria." He was slightly confused at this.

" I do like her… I knew deep down that I did… I just couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment towards her. You know, with the whole idea of her." Emily made quotation marks with her fingers, " stealing you from me." Emily crossed her hands over her chest in a hugging motion, staring down at her lap. He put his hands on her waist and gently guided her into his lap, clasping his hands in hers once again and resting them on her stomach. She laid her head back and rested it on his shoulder, where he moved her hair away and kissed her neck gently.

" I just feel… I feel like I owe her a huge thank-you, but in truth it would take an eternity to repay her for what she did for me." Emily said musingly. " She gave me a second chance at a happy ever after." Victor tightened his grip around Emily's waist, and she closed her eyes. They sat like this for a few minutes, in utter silence… until victor finally spoke, sensing Emily'

" I heard Bonejangles shout something about eight o clock… but the elder told me that time doesn't pass here… I'm confused." He said, chuckling at the irrelevance of his comment. Emily moved her head so that she could look up at him.

" The elder's right, time doesn't pass here, but we do need some for of schedule do we not? So we go by time in the land of the living… if that makes any sense. We just use time to build a routine, it really doesn't exist."

" But if that's true, then why do the sun rise and set here?" victor was still perplexed about this, and he was glad that Emily knew so much about it…

" Victor.. You must understand…we are in sync with the land of the living. Death and life… no matter how different they may be, they are both part of a never ending cycle. I'm sure you've heard of the circle of life sometime in your education. It's a naturally occurring thing, and no mortal can break the cycle. What I'm trying to say is, even though the land of the living and the land of the dead are completely separate worlds… they're still connected… why do you think the dead can still feel trivial things like warmth and cold? Why do they laugh when they are tickled… most of them anyway… It's the exact same reason the sun and moon rise and fall… it's part of the connection… The living and the dead aren't all that different, all we lack is the beat of a pulse…" Emily shook her head violently. " I'm making no sense, I've probably just confused you even more… and all the while sounding like some phony soothsayer that you hear in an alleyway" She said.

" Actually Emily, It's more clear now than it ever was… I'm so lucky to have someone like you by my side." Victor never realized he could sound this mushy… or as he deemed it… This corny.

" You know in all my life no one has ever said something like that to me." She smiled, a truly genuine smile, it was a rare sight to anyone who had known Emily in the past three years.

" Well it's the truth, I don't even deserve you… You're a wonderful person.. And I'm a cowardly bumbling idiot." That was all Emily could stand to hear, she wriggled out of Victor's grasp and turned to face him.

" how can you even think that?" She exclaimed, an alarmed tone in her voice. " How can you even think for one second that your are a coward… do you know how much nerve it takes to marry a corpse?" She said, waving her arms about. " How many men would willingly give up their very lives to be wed to a cadaverous female who lost her life three years prior? Not many from where I'm standing… I don't think you really know how special you are." She said, crawling towards him on her hands and knees.

" That's because no one's ever told me… I've always had to strive for the little praise I got. My father…" Knowing that a story was coming, Emily sat in front of victor again. Interested in all that had to say.

" My father comes from a long line of fishermen, he and his predecessors had been in charge of a small seafood restaurant since who knows when. It was always his dream that I take over in his stead, But I had no desire to do anything of the sort. At a very young age I knew I was different from most… I always wanted to be an artist. My best friends growing up were my easel, my paint set, and all of my other art things. For hours I would be shut up in my room, staring out of my large window, painting all that I could see, and some things I couldn't see. My parents never approved of my work… they said it was too unreformed and a waste of time. My father at one point took my things away, and insisted that I come fishing with him." Victor stopped to look at Emily, and he smiled on how absorbed she was in his story. She was lying on her stomach, propped upon her elbows, and her already large eyes had become larger.

" Go on, go on." She pleaded, like an eager child. " What happened? Did you go with him?"

" I did, and I'll never forget that day…. It was so early, I was still half asleep…"

"_ Victor… come on Victor! We're shoving off!" William van Dort, Victor's father, called."_

_" I'm coming father." A solemn tone answered. A younger, skinnier Victor trudged gloomily up the gangplank of the large fishing boat. He was a lot shorter, no more than thirteen years old, and his thin gangly frame trembled slightly as the boat lurched back and forth. "but father, are you sure I really have to go through with this."_

_" Nonsense Victor my boy… This will get you out of that stuffy room of yours and into the real world. Why, this little trip may even put a bit of muscle into that gawky body of yours. It'll make you into a man.. Real men don't dabble in useless hobbies such as the arts... That's purely a female thing.. What with all their needlework and such… Oh, looks like it's time to set sail, come on and help me raise anchor Victor." William walked along the upper deck of the boat to the large gear like structure towards the front. The structure had large handles protruding from its middle where a thick chain was wrapped around it. William grabbed on of the handles and instructed his son to do the same. Victor grabbed one of the handles and on his fathers word, began to push. He found that the weight was not unbearable, but it did however take all of his weight to move. The anchor slowly made its way up, and the boat became more unstable, almost knocking poor Victor to the ground._

_" I see you haven't quite got your sea legs have you? Well you'll get used to it soon. Just let me go unfurl the sails and we'll be off."_

_Victor's father climbed up a small ladder to work on the sails. After a few ropes were loosened the sails were open, revealing the Van Dort coat of arms. The boat was soon carried out of the bay and into the open ocean. William set right to work spreading the nets and throwing them into the ocean. Victor, on the other hand, wasn't as set on work. He grabbed on to the middle mast of the boat for support, clutching his head with his free hand. The gulls flying around… the slow, concentrated rocking of the boat… all of it was making Victor's head spin. William came over to look at his son._

_" Victor, are you alright? Your looking a little pale." His father said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder._

_" I'm fine… just a little dizzy is all." Lied Victor, in truth, he felt absolutely horrible._

_" Well, If your sure, than come up to the bow with me, I want to show you something." William strode towards the bow of the boat, while his seasick son followed. William stood on the very top of the bow, gazing out into the ocean… then he pointed straight ahead._

_" Look Victor…" Victor walked shakily to where his father was standing, and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen… the sun was rising, and it reflected on the ocean, turning its blue waters a reddish orange color. The gulls were flying in the sun, making them appear as just shadows… Then.. Out of the corner of his eye, Victor saw something flicker in the light. He turned his head to find the source of the glimmer, and saw it again. It was a fin… a tailfin of some sort of creature sticking out of the water, and waving to him before it disappeared back into the ocean. William laughed heartily._

_" You see that Victor? That's a mermaid, she's saying hello… wishing us a safe voyage."_

_" Now father.. Y-"_

Victor was about to continue the story, that is before he saw Emily. He looked down at her, only to see that she was still lying on her stomach, but she had laid the rest of her body down and rested her head in her crossed arms. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she looked to be asleep. He smiled at how positively adorable she looked. A small smile was on her face, and he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

" Emily… wake up Emily." And to his surprise, she cracked open an eye and spoke to him.

" I'm not sleeping darling." ( I could so see her saying that .. In that little voice she used in the movie to say "pardon my enthusiasm" lol ) She said softly. " I can see the story better with my eyes closed." Victor laughed and continued his story.

_It was high noon on the sea. And Victor's seasickness was still present. He had been helping his father with various things, and for a while that helped to cure his nausea, but then William called Victor to a large pulley._

_" Victor, come on son, It's time to pull up the nets."_

_" Do you really need my help father?" Victor asked, feeling more nauseous than he had before._

_" Well I can't very well do it alone now can I? Come on, grab this rope and help me pull it up." Victor did as he was told, and the net was soon above the water, full of hundreds of what looked like tuna fish… Victor got one look at the fish in the net and that was all he needed… His stomach did an unhealthy back flip… There gills flapping, there little beady eyes seeming to stare at him… the salty smell of the water invading his nostrils… It was just too much. His hand flew up to his mouth and he ran over to the side of the boat, the contents of his stomach spilling out into the ocean. …_

" Oh, you poor thing… You're the last person I would expect to get seasick." Emily chuckled at the description of Victor's time at sea. She rolled over onto her back, and took victor's face in her hands. " So what happened after that? But do try to wrap it up, We still must deliver our invitation and I fear it will be too late if we delay it longer."

" Well, to be as quick as possible, basically after I got seasick we went home and… well... To be honest my parents never thought too highly of my physical caliber after that. I eventually got my art things back, and it was around that time that I further developed my piano skills as well… but my father still didn't approve."

" Well your very good at the piano, and I'm sure you're a wonderful artist… You'll not have to worry about approval anymore… because you know you've always got mine." Emily said, taking her hands off of victors face and sitting up.  
Victor stood up off of the ground, and, politely helping Emily to her feet, they began the short journey to Elder Gutknecht's house. When they reached their destination, they were surprised to find all of the lights on. Victor pushed the old door open gently and the two stepped inside.

" Elder? Elder Gutknecht are you in here?" Emily called.

" In here…" Came a soft reply. Emily and Victor followed the source of the noise to find the Elder standing at his podium ( you all know the one right?) He straightened his glasses and leaned over the platform.

" Why if it isn't Emily and Victor come by for a visit. Tell me… what brings you to my house at such an hour… almost seven now isn't it?" He asked .

" Actually it's only six thirty." said Victor, looking at a pocket watch.

" Ahh… time is always slipping away form me… I swear, those breathers are changing their clocks every day. I can never keep track." The old skeleton said as he slowly and unsteadily made his way down the stairs to where Emily and Victor currently stood. Emily rushed over to help him as she saw that he was going to fall.

" Thank you my dear… now tell me, is there anything I can do for you?" The elder put a hand on his back.

" Actually there is… you've already done so much for us Elder Gutknecht, but we must as you for yet another favor… we need to get back to the land of the living again… It seems we've forgotten to invite on very important person." Victor said

" Ahh, you need to take a trip upstairs eh? Well, that's no trouble at all my boy." The elder, with the assistance of Emily, hobbled back up the stairs to his podium, where a raven sat perched on a long branch next to the platform. The elder took the bird in his right hand and squeezed its abdomen, gradually lowering his hand until he coaxed a yellowish brown egg out of the bird's rear end. " now, before I crack this egg, I must give you this." The elder reached into a compartment of his podium and pulled out a small silver ring. It was only a simple band, but it had an eerie glow to it. " When you reach the land of the living… and your destination… to get Victoria back down here to us, You must tell her to wear this ring. When she is ready to make the journey, she too must utter the word hopscotch… but a word of caution, she must be in a graveyard when she says the word. Anywhere else, and the spell will be out of reach." The elder said this with a grave seriousness. Emily and Victor exchanged stunned glances, wondering how the elder knew they were inviting Victoria. He understood this and chuckled while handing Victor the ring, and, cracking the egg, watching as a brown fog surrounded the two.  
Emily and Victor flew through the streets of the land of the Dead, unseen or unheard by anyone. Both of them feeling the familiar nausea one felt when traveling at a high speed. Emily held tight to Victor, and he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist to prevent her losing her balance. Clutching his back, she looked up at him.

" You know, all this time and I've never even met your parents. You don't suppose we could pay them a visit do you?" She asked.

" I think we should wait for that until the reception's over, we've got a lot to do before tomorrow… my parents are a bit on the lazy side anyway. They may already be ready for bed, who knows with them." He said, shaking his head…  
Soon after, the ground became tangible under their feet again. Victor stumbled a bit, not quite used to the transition yet, but when he regained his bearings, he took Emily's hand and they walked to Everglot manor.

" Victoria! Victoria where are you?" A snooty, feminine voice called. The voice came form Maudeline Everglot, Victoria's mother.

" Upstairs mother, in the study... What's the problem?" Victoria called, annoyed that the reading of her favorite book, "A tale of Two Cities," had been interrupted. She heard her mother mumbling, and another voice joined her, it sounded like her father.

" Oh, uh... Never mind dear." Maudeline called. Victoria rolled her eyes and continued her reading. She was just a little bit into the fifth chapter when she heard someone calling her name. Putting her book down she got up off of the chair and searched for the noise. When she found it, she froze in place.

" V-victor" She said. Running over to the door leading to the balcony she flung it open, and the tall young man stepped inside.

" Hello Victoria!" he said in a cheerful manner. She stared at him in disbelief, walking up to him and putting a hand on his face, feeling that it no longer held any warmth at all.

" I never thought I'd see you like this… It's so strange." She said, smiling slightly.

" I thought you'd say that, but listen, that's not why I'm here." He lowered his voice so no one else could hear. " Emily and I… we were talking earlier, and we think you should be present at our wedding reception tomorrow. We wouldn't feel right if we didn't at least try to invite you." Victor straightened his posture, searching Victoria's face for any sort of answer.

" Victor, you know I would love to attend, but what about my parents? What would they think if I tried to explain something like that? And how would I get down there tomorrow?"

" Well, as for your parents, I cannot help you there; but for the issue of transport, Emily and I have it all taken care of.

" Emily." Only a trained psychologist could've picked up that Victoria said Emily's name with the slightest bit of fear. " is she here?" She asked.

" She is… but would your parents really want to see an unfamiliar corpse in your house?" Victor raised an eyebrow. " they'd have a conniption."

" yes, and they'll have a conniption if they see you here… dead at that. How will I ever convince them to let me go? I need to make up an excuse…" Victoria stood in thought. " I've got it… listen… go out of here, and come knock on the front door."

" But why?" Victor asked, confused.

" Just trust me… late night telegrams aren't suspicious right?" She said, winking at Victor.

" wow… I'd never expected you to be this devious Victoria." Victor said.

" Yes well, one does get rather sick of having oppressive parents.. Now we must hurry, my parents are in the parlor by now, they wont hear us, they'll only hear the knocking." Victoria said as she ushered Victor out to the balcony, where he met her at the front door, swinging the large brass knocker and hitting it on the door three times.

" So, how am I going to get down to the land of the dead?" Victoria asked as she swung the large door open slightly. Victor handed her the silver ring.

" Just wear this, when you're ready to come down, go into the graveyard nearest your house and say the word "hopscotch," that will take you to the land of the dead, and when you're down there, look for the ball and socket pub, that's where we'll be."

" That simple? It seemed like a more complex matter than that." Victoria said, shivering slightly as the chilly outside air blew in her direction. Victor of course, was unaffected.

" That's all you need to do…" Victor looked in the house to see Maudeline strolling out of the parlor. "Your mother's coming… can I count on seeing you tomorrow night?"

" Yes… I shall see you tomorrow, come hell or high water, I'll be there." She said, and Victor gave her a friendly hug.

" It means the world to us Victoria. Be there at around 7:00" He said, and he left her with that as he disappeared into the night. Victoria closed the door just as her mother came into the foyer.

" Who was that Victoria?" Asked Maudeline, sending a suspicious glare in her daughter's direction, Victoria put on a look of fake worry.

" That was the postman mother, I have some dreadful news… My friend Ruth, her mother is in the hospital with a terrible illness. I wish go see her tomorrow night, she's in a terrible state. The thing is, however." Victoria was surprised with herself for letting such a good lie. " Ruth won't be back from the hospital until later, around 7:00, so I might not be back until late. Please mother… she needs my help." Victoria said, with all of the worry and concern in her voice that she could muster. Maudeline's glare softened only slightly, and she straightened herself as she spoke.

" Ah yes, I remember Ruth… Well, I suppose it would be rather uncaring of you to not go… I guess I have no choice but to let you go… although I'd much rather have you stay at home with your father and I… How late do you think you'll be back?" She asked.

"there's no telling, I can't give you a definite time." Victoria said… "this is going extremely well" she thought.

" Yes.. Well… god forbid you should get home exceedingly late… mark my words, any later than 1:00 A.M, and you shall not be permitted to leave this house for an entire month. Do you understand me young lady?" Maudeline said sternly.

" Yes, thank you mother."

" Yes, now it's off to bed with you. You've a lot to do before you go tomorrow." Maudeline kissed her daughter on the forehead before letting her up the stairs to her bedchamber. When she reached her room, she chose a nightgown from her armoire and walked into her bathroom to prepare for bed, an unusual hop in her step as she did so.  
Back in the land of the dead, Victor and Emily walked side by side, and Emily was finding great amusement in torturing her husband.

" You were in there an awfully long time Victor… what exactly WERE you doing with Victoria hmm?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and trying not to giggle at Victor's uneasiness.

" I was inviting her to our reception… what else could I possibly be doing?" Victor instantly regretted saying that.

" Well I could think of a few things." Emily said, chuckling

" Oh heavens no! how could you even suspect such a thing." Victor's eyes were wide, Emily gave his hand a gentle squeeze

" I was only teasing darling…" Her voice trailed off, and her face turned from a look of amusement, to one of uneasiness. " Victor… I wanted to talk to you about something, I may as well say it while we're on the subject… how do you feel about the topic of… sexual relations." Emily closed her eyes, afraid of Victor's reaction.

" W-well… for one, I see it as not a necessary thing… I think there are other ways to bring two people together than...Well… That. Furthermore, I don't see it as something I would be particularly good at… I do hope that's alright with you." he felt a bit better after he heard her sigh with relief.

" Better than alright, I've always found that topic rather strange, in a sort of vulgar way… I'm so glad you said what you said…" she laughed. "One more reason to add to my list of reasons why you and I are perfect for each other." She linked her arm with his and put her head up against his shoulder. Victor was pleased that the conversation had ended so abruptly, and he tightened his grip around Emily's arm… happier than he had ever been in his entire life.  
When they reached the pub , all but a few lights were off.

" Mrs. Plum must be asleep, Bonejangles must've gone home for the night… I do hope you brought a decent pair of bed clothes."

" I did, they're in my bag that I brought down with me… It should be in the back somewhere."

" Good, you can use the spare room down here to change in, I'll be upstairs feeding my maggot." Victor spun in place.

" I thought it was awfully quiet, whatever happened to your little maggot.?"

" Well… to put it nicely, he has been evicted. I, however, brought it upon myself to build him a nice little house. He lives in the kitchen." Emily laughed at the memory of the "eviction" of her maggot.

" Why the kitchen?"

" Because Mrs. Plum promised him leftovers, and he like to help with recipes… but I do hope she doesn't let him get near the food. Dead or not it would make our guests a bit… uneasy." Victor chuckled at this.

" Yes, I think you're right." He would have continued but Emily yawned. " well, look who's falling asleep standing… let's get changed for bed." Emily nodded and sleepily rubbed one eye.  
After about ten minutes of pre-bed preparations, Victor walked out into the main room, where Emily was standing, brushing her long blue hair in front of a mirror. She was wearing a set of off-white pajamas. The top piece was a long sleeved shirt, draped just a bit off her shoulders, and the pants were long and flowing, and her small feet just barely showed under the bottom. Victor had never seen this style on a female before.

" Emily, don't girls usually wear nightgowns to bed."

" You should see all of the crazy styles they have down here… one good thing about being dead is that when a clothing designer passes on… he is still designing down here. We are so very much ahead of the living, it's rather nice." Emily said, following Victor upstairs to the spare bedroom where they would be sleeping. The room was painted a dark purple, with matching carpet, and in the middle of the room was a large bed with four posts, black spider web lace draped over and cascading down each one. It had all of the other necessities for a bedroom, and the decorations were beautiful. Emily walked over to the bed and hopped in, and Victor followed soon after. No sooner had be crawled under the covers, did he find Emily squished up next to him. He laughed to himself and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead gently, and seeing that it made her smile. He couldn't think of any other time when he had been happier, and it made him absolutely ecstatic that he would be spending the rest of eternity with this wonderful creature. Feeling his consciousness slipping away, He tightened his grip around Emily's waist…

" I love you Emily, forever and always." He whispered to her, she opened her eyes, and was too happy to speak, she merely moved her head a bit and pressed her lips to his… In that one kiss, both Emily and Victor were swept away… a surge of emotion washed over them, like a tidal wave. They lost track of all time, of all surrounding… they had forgotten that the very earth was spinning around them… all they knew was each other, and both anticipated the fun that the next day brought….

A/N the end! Finally! -throws confetti everywhere, getting a piece in eye- owowow… ok, so yes, this was chapter three -eye is tearing- Parts of this chapter are majorly cliché… but lol that's the kind of love I picture between these two, sappy and perfect. I also feel that I may have rushed things a bit -- so plz REVIEW, and tell me what you think… It's not hard rly… just click the little button over there… Yes, so I noticed some typos in the previous chapters, so keep checking back tot hem because I will be working on fixing and fine-tuning them.. Chapter four will be the long awaited reception, Lol until then, this is griffin-queen saying peace out!


	4. Chapter 4 part one: Preparations

A/N: hiya! Griffin queen here with chapter four of " if immortality unveil." Lol I understand that I kinda rushed things in the last chapter, but that's a thing of the past… this chapter should be a little bit better. I am working my very hardest to update the previous chapters, simply because I found SO much wrong with them, so keep in mind that My grammar really isn't horrible… lol. Oh, and one more thing…** I do NOT own the song that is in this part… that belongs to Mandy Moore, Nor Do I own corpse bride or any of its characters…they belong to the god of movie making, Tim Burton.**

Chapter four

The sun finally began its journey across the sky in the land of the dead. Everywhere people were awakening and beginning their daily routines. The sun made its way over a particular bar, and through a window in the upstairs.  
The sunlight peeked through the window and hit Emily's eyelids, stirring uncomfortably, she turned over onto her other side and opened her eyes. The first thing her open eyes met with was a pair of closed ones. She laughed silently at his sleeping form, and realized that his arms were still fastened comfortably around her waist. She rolled over and relaxed into his embrace, half out of sleepiness, and half out of the fact that he was still there and she hadn't been merely dreaming. Almost reluctant to get out of bed, she rolled over and looked at Victor. He was sleeping soundly, nothing about him stirred. She giggled softly and gently inched herself closer to Victor, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his nose softly… and it wasn't long before she had fallen asleep again.

It had been about a half hour before Emily realized that she had fallen asleep again… She gently unraveled Victor's arms from her waist and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Yawning softly, she stood up and stretched. Walking over to the window, she looked through the curtain to the town below. The morning rush had begun.. Everywhere, people were moving about, doing all sorts of things. Suddenly… Emily had an evil thought in her mind… she looked over at Victor, who stirred just slightly. " alright you lazy lout… up and at 'em." She mumbled to herself, and with that, she threw open the curtains and the golden rays of sunshine hit Victor full blast. The sudden burst of light awoke Victor immediately, and he sat up straight.

" But I didn't do it mother!" He shouted… and realizing where he was, he looked around the fully lit room. He saw his feet at the end of the bed… the dresser… the door… and something else now caught his eye… It was Emily. She was standing next to the curtains, looking at him and laughing. He groaned and let his head hit he pillow again with a soft thump. Emily looked on at him and rolled her eyes. " alright… now you leave me no choice." She said, and marched over to the side of the bed. She bent her knees a bit and leaped onto the bed, pouncing on her lazy husband. His eyes flew open again and he slowly lifted his head, only to find Emily staring at him, with her arms draped on his shoulders and her chin resting on his chest.

" I told you…" She said in a sing-song voice. Victor merely groaned.

" Oh Emily… don't the dead know the meaning of sleeping in?" He asked, and she giggled.

" They do… But I don't." She said with a smile. She got off of Victor as he sat up, running his fingers through his raven hair and looking at her again, but he said nothing, only shook his head and chuckled. Getting out of bed, he stretched and yawned, feeling a pair of arms wrap around his waist.

" You do know I'm not letting go right?" Emily said, resting her cheek against Victor's back. He smiled warmly, and took her arms off, turning around and hugging her close to him.

" I didn't say you had to." he said, resting his cheek on top of her head, breathing in her scent. Now one wouldn't think that the smell of a corpse to be particularly pleasant, but Emily was different… she smelled of dried flowers, mainly roses and lilacs… to Victor, it brought nostalgic feelings of his childhood, when his mother would always dry out flowers and press them soon after…  
Emily stood in Victor's embrace, her eyes closed and her hands rested loosely on his chest… never before had she felt this happy… She loved Victor with all of her heart and soul, and she wasn't afraid to give up her very existence in order to prove it. She loved Victor more than she had ever even thought of loving Barkis. Victor made her feel… for once in her death… like she actually belonged somewhere… The two stood like this for a few minutes, until a knock at the door brought them both out of their trances.

" Emily? Victor? You up?" Victor realized that it was Bonejangles… Victor released Emily from his grip and went to answer the door.

" Good morning BJ." Victor said,

" Mornin' Victor… I'm not uhh.. Interruptin' anything am I?" BJ asked, clearing his throat and taking his bowler hat off.

" Not at all! We were just about to go downstairs anyway… is something the m-."

" Bonejangles! How wonderful it is to see you this morning." Emily squealed, she skipped up to Bonejangles and planted a gentle kiss on the top of his skull. Bonejangles did a double take as he watched Emily skip past him and down the stairs. His jaw was hanging off of its hinge, but it soon fixed itself when BJ went to talk to Victor, whose eyes were as big as dinner plates.

" damn… you sure you two weren't doin nothin' Victor?" BJ asked, his eyeball rolling to the other socket as he tilted his head.

" Positive."

" I've never seen Emily this happy… does these bones good to see her like this." BJ laughed. " Well, you can change up here, I'll meet ya downstairs." BJ tipped his hat and walked down the stairs, where Emily could be heard laughing at something or other.  
In about fifteen minutes, Victor walked down the stairs, fully dressed and ready for the day. Emily was also dressed, and she got one sight of Victor and rushed over to him, he extended a hand to her and she took it happily, lacing her fingers with his. Mrs. Plum sauntered out of the kitchen, her wooden spoon was clutched in her left hand.

" Well well, look who's up… Emily, Victor, did you sleep well?" She was fixed her apron, tying it in a tight bow.

" We did, thank you" Victor said, but just as he finished he felt Emily's hand pull downwards on his, and he let go out of instinct. He looked over at Emily, but found her lying on the floor in a tangled heap. On the way down she had become tangled in the train of her dress ( I'm looking at a picture on my calendar… her dress train is rly long O.o…. I'd be tripping all down the aisle.), and he found her not extremely flustered, but laughing hysterically. Victor couldn't help but laugh, and he bent down to help the jumbled knot that was his wife. He gently helped her untangle herself from her dress, which, he found, was easier said than done. When he finally managed to get her untangled, Emily was still teeming with laughter, tears were streaming down her cheeks, and the poor bride had never looked sillier.

" What happened Emily?" Victor asked, he was still chuckling as well.

" I-I don't even know… I was standing by you, and the next- the next minute I was on the ground." She managed to say before she noticed that her leg had snapped off again. "well that may have something to do with it." She giggled, and grabbing her leg and reattaching it, she stood up. She had to lean on Victor for support while she regained her composure… and Mrs. Plum and Bonejangles just stood there like deer in headlights. Mrs. Plum had one eyebrow raised, and Bonejangles' jaw had come off its hinge again. Emily noticed this and raised an eyebrow of her own.

" What?" She asked. Bonejangles shook his head violently.

" Nothin babe." He said " hey, why don't you two go out for a while, have some fun? But don't have too much fun, cuz u guys are gonna be partying all night." he chuckled, and with that he and Mrs.' Plum walked into the kitchen. Leaving Emily and Victor to themselves.

" well that leaves us with a large amount of time to kill… what do we do for fun down here." Victor said, turning around to face Emily. She merely shrugged.  
" Well, what sorts of things do you like to do?" She asked.

" I'm not sure. I don't suppose you have a library around here do you." Emily shoved him playfully.

" Of course we have a library! What would a town be without a library? We have all of the books a library upstairs would have, and then some." She said, and then taking his hand again, she led him out of the pub.

" Come with me, the library isn't too far from here actually." She said, but then she and Victor stopped short as they heard Bonejangles call out to them.

" Hey you two! Don't forget! Be back here at 7:30!." He said, putting a hand to his mouth in an attempt to amplify his voice.

" We will!" Emily called back, waving to him as she and Victor continued on their way. The two walked down the streets, talking merrily amongst themselves. Victor had never seen so many happy people in his entire life. Every which way he looked people were smiling, and occasionally they would wave at him, and he would wave back. Emily noticed this every so often and could only smile. Never before had she been so infatuated with anyone or anything. She was torn from her thoughts suddenly when Victor ran smack into someone. He stumbled backwards a bit, but then recovered quickly. He snapped his head up to meet the stern face of a gray-mustached skeleton, clad in war attire. He recognized this figure as the cannonball general.

" Is that you general? Oh dear… I'm terribly sorry for running into you. Really… I'm so sorry" He said quirkily as he picked the general's monocle up off of the ground and handed it to him.

" Now who In the-" He stopped as he put his monocle back on his eye socket. " Well, well, well if it isn't young master Van Dort out and about this fine afternoon. And the young Lady Van Dort as well… Otherwise known as Emily." The general laughed, his jovial tone making Victor and Emily laugh along with him. " I say… how are you today wot wot?" He said.

" Just fine general, off to the library for us today, and yourself?" Emily said, stifling a giggle.

" Ahh, I'm off to the docks today. Meeting some of my old chums for a meal of poker and a round of fish n chips… wait…." Victor and Emily were laughing again, and the general cleared his throat nervously, "Yes… well, I'd best let you get on your way. At ease friends! The library awaits!" The general said, saluting.

" Will we see you at the party tonight?" Victor asked.

" Ah yes, the reception. Well, don't be too surprised if I pop my head in for a visit." The general laughed again. He saluted once more and Emily and Victor were once again bound for the library.

"He's an odd fellow."

" Be that as it may, he does have a way of making one laugh." Emily said, lacing her arm with Victor's. "The library isn't too much farther…. You can't miss it. It looks like more of a town hall, or a bank… anything but a library." Emily laughed, and she was soon proven right when the library was in site. It was a large building, it's shadow loomed over the large town square. It's gray stone walls and foundation were only slightly damaged, but it looked foreboding just the same. It was stationed up on a hill set back about 50 feet from the square, with a cobblestone walkway leading up to it. At the close end of the walkway were perched two massive gargoyles atop short stone pillars. The gargoyle on the left was in a crouching position, its bat wings extended fully. A large book was clutched in its left hand, the talons on it looked as if they were almost piercing the book's cover. The other arm was outstretched slightly, and a globe was held in its hand. On the pillar, just under the gargoyles large feet were carved the words "_ lex et mandatum_"  
The gargoyle on the right also sat in a crouching position, but it's wings were folded against it's back, and a large scroll was held in it's hands. Below this gargoyle's feet were carved the words "_litterae et virtus_." Victor walked with Emily up to the Gargoyles and read aloud.

" Law and Order…. Letters and Excellence." He said softly, Emily turned and looked at him.

" Wow… you know Latin?" She said.

" Just a bit, not very much." He said.

Emily took Victor's hand and led him up the large cobblestone walkway. It was adorned with trees and all sorts of potted plants, all slightly wilted. The doors were made of brass, and they stood each about 10 feet high. It took Emily all of her strength to push one of them open so she and Victor could get inside. Once inside, the smell of old books and paper overwhelmed them, the air was somewhat musty and cold, but it didn't faze either Emily or Victor. They walked around the library for a while and found a small alcove off towards the back. It was painted a dark red, with matching curtains over a window on the far wall. The room had a roaring fireplace, and two red couches were stationed around it. Behind the couches sat two large wooden desks, each equipped with their own ink and a decent supply of quill pens. Victor and Emily walked into the room, and Emily Sat on the couch closest to the fire.

" I've never seen this part of the library before." Said Emily… but she was soon interrupted by a Chirpy female voice.

" Well, top o' the mornin' to ya Emily, and who's this?" Said a chubby Irish women. She looked to have died in her late thirties, and her red hair stuck out in all wild sorts of directions… Straightening her spectacles, she smiled even wider. " Why Victor, a pleasure t' see ya this afternoon."

" Hello Sari… It's nice to see you again. I've never been back here before, how come you never told me about this place." Emily asked, and Sari sighed.

" Aye… I never told ya about this place. This little lounge here was open for the public about three years ago. But no one ever came into it. It's a cryin' shame no one bothers to stay a while in the library anymore… No one has any interest in a good book." Sari looked a little downhearted at this statement, but Victor smiled at her.

" We do." He said meekly.

" Well then I'll let you two alone… if ye be needin' anything, Emily you know where to find me." Sari smiled and Emily nodded. " ye can also close the curtain if ye want." she said, and with that she walked out into the library.

" That's Sari… I've known her a while… such a sweet lady. I often come to the library when I'm bored, or upset."

" I've always loved a good book, ever since I was little… are you going to come out and look around with me?" Victor asked.

" Maybe, I'm quite comfy here though, in front of the fire." Victor chuckled and walked out into the library.  
Emily sat on the couch… staring into the fire, a half-smile on her face. Her eyes had a slightly glazed look, and the red hot fire was reflected in them. She could think of nothing but how lucky she was…She never thought her day would come. Before, she could only dream of the day when her true love stood by her side. Feeling tears sting her eyes, she quickly blinked them away when Victor entered the room, closing the curtain and carrying a small stack of books in his arms.

" I found a whole bunch of books I th- Are you alright Emily?" Victor asked, raising an eyebrow.

" Yes Victor I'm absolutely fine… what makes you say that?" Emily said, perfectly covering up the fact that she was almost crying.

" Oh I dunno… you had a sort of wistful look on your face." Victor shrugged, and walked over and sat down next to Emily on the couch, picking up a large book and setting the rest down on the table.

" I think I'm going to read this one… you can also go and choose one if you like, I tried to pick ones I thought you would enjoy as well." He said, but as soon as he sat back on the couch and opened the book, he felt something slip underneath his left arm… He smiled when he realized it was Emily's head.

" That's alright… whatever you're reading is fine." She said, resting her head and bony hand up against Victor's chest.  
The couple stayed like this for what seemed like forever, reading together. Victor was quite the exceptional reader, he would often get ahead of Emily, but she would promptly let him know if she wasn't ready to turn the page. He was interrupted, however, when Emily's bony hand came up to the page, it was pointing to a rather large word.

" What is that word?" Emily said meekly. Victor focused his eyes on the word Emily was pointing at, and he took on an almost teacher like tone.

"Rheumatism… It's quite a common condition that some people get. It makes their joints sore in spells of bad weather." Victor looked at Emily, who looked up at him. " y…you've never seen that word before?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to insult Emily.

" No." She replied flatly "In fact, there are a great many words in this book I haven't seen, or just can't read." She said.

" Really? Why didn't you tell me? We could've gotten an easier book." Emily picked her head up, but avoided making eye contact with Victor.

" Well, It's sort of embarrassing… not being able to read some things. It makes me feel stupid…ashamed. You see… I never finished out my education…"

" Well yes… but I would think your vocabulary would be wide enough-."

" No no… I mean even before I died…" Emily sighed. "Would you like to hear the story?" Victor nodded and closed the book.

" I think it would be best." He said, Emily nodded and began speaking, her tone was hushed and frail.

"It was quite a while back. I was about twelve years old. I was in sixth grade at the time. I was a wonderful student, or so I was told. My mother was always telling me how proud she was of me. I loved to learn new things all the time, to learn how things worked and fit together. It fascinated me... Then the unthinkable happened… I had heard my parents talking late one night..

"_Jason….Jason why do you have to do this?" Said Devondra._

_" the troops are getting low in numbers…they need all the help they can get. I've already enlisted myself, Devondra._

_" But what if something happens to you… god forbid it does… think of our daughter!" devondra had naught but desperation in her voice._

_" This is why I've enlisted… To keep our country safe for our little Emily. I'll fight this war for her, so that she may prosper in a long, happy life…. She's a smart girl… a year or two out of school won't matter in the least… you'll need the extra help while I'm gone."_

Emily scoffed. " Yes… a lot of good that did me." Victor gave her a stern look and she continued. "So then he went to war… he sent us letters whenever he could. He even sent me some things from the towns he marched through, I have some of the things down here with me. I'll show them to you sometime… He fought in battles whenever they called for him, miraculously escaping with only minor wounds… My mother and I were so happy that he survived them. Every night before we both went to bed we would pray together for his luck in the battles. My mother also had to take me out of school to help her around the house, and with many other things. The years rolled by, and we always had plans to send me back to school, but we never acted on them. I was taught by my mother whenever she had time to show me anything, but it wasn't nearly up to par with what I should have been learning." Emily sounded slightly angry.

" Well that explains a lot… but what of your father? You never did quite finish what happened to him." Victor said, and almost immediately regretted asking, for he had his arms wrapped around Emily, and he felt her muscles tense up… and she shivered slightly. " y-you know… I think that's alright… you don't have to tell me." He said, and she shook her head.

" No… It's best I tell you now... I intend to tell the entire story" She said, and Victor nodded and shifted her so that she was sitting in his lap and he could hold on to her tighter.

" Well… it was a bright sunny July morning… my mother and I were making breakfast in the kitchen. We were laughing, but somehow my mother managed to hear someone knocking at the door. When she opened it.. And mind you I was standing right behind her. We saw a soldier in uniform. He quickly saluted and took off his hat, and handed my mother a scroll of yellowed parchment paper. She opened the scroll, and I knew something wasn't right… She thanked the soldier and he was on his way. Then, she came down to my level and put her arms around me… and told me that my father was dead. He had been killed in an ambush, and they were sending his body back to us for the funeral…We had to ride almost an hour by carriage to the funeral location. Then my mother began to cry…

It was a beautiful ceremony They held it outdoors. Everywhere there were flowers and flags. The soldiers gave him a ten-gun salute as his casket was carried to his final resting place… I had never cried so hard in all my life." Emily's body was now trembling pitifully. "I still remember visiting his grave on weekends… His headstone was quite large.. A monument of sorts…I can still remember his epitaph word for word…

After that, Emily broke all eye contact with Victor…and her eyes became very distant. So far away that it seemed as if nothing would ever bring them back. Victor didn't even put any thought into why she was like this… he just understood. He nuzzled her cheek gently with his nose… not so much as a loving gesture, but as a sign. Any sort of sign to remind her that he was still there for her… he kept his face on her cheek, and his arms tight around her… waiting for her to come back to him, her present state tearing at his heartstrings with every passing moment. Out of impulse, he kissed her cheek tenderly, and that seemed to bring her back to reality.

Emily turned slightly and rested her forehead against Victor's… and he had to try very hard not to melt into a puddle of mush… He had never been so close to her open eyes before… they were the most beautiful things he had ever seen... Those forlorn eyes that he had come to know and love. Her eyes took on the complexion of crystals, the fire making them shine even brighter, contrasting their black center perfectly. Victor was slightly unnerved, for he had never been this close to anyone for so long before… but he soon forgot this feeling and could only stare at Emily… Victor was about to say something, but the something else crossed his mind.

" So… your last name is-."

" Holcombe…. Emily Jane Holcombe." She said quietly.

" Jane… a beautiful middle name… It fits one as beautiful as yourself." Victor said, rubbing his nose against Emily's, she giggled softly.

It wasn't long before Victor had pinned her underneath him on the couch, placing his hands on her waist.

" Tell me Emily… are you ticklish?" He said, moving his fingers about, making Emily squeal in surprise, and she desperately tried to wriggle free of Victor's grip, but he kept a firm hold, and continued to tickle her. She managed to choke out a warning.

" V-victor! S-s-stop! STOP!" she shrilled, consumed by her laughter once again. Victor, of course, did not heed this warning, and he continued his torture until they both fell off the couch laughing. Emily now had tears streaming down her face, and she was laughing the hardest she had in a while . She Finally managed to grab both of Victor's wrists with her hands, ending her torture for a moment.

" Ok.. Ok... Enough is enough Victor… I can't stand it anymore." She said.

" Oh, you're no fun." Victor said.

" Oh really?" She said, and she was about to prove him wrong when a clap of thunder interrupter them. Emily rushed to the window and pulled open the red velvet curtains. "uh-oh." she said, "looks like we'd better start heading back, there's a storm coming." she said, and Victor got up off of the floor and they made their way to the front of the library. Sari looked up from her desk.

" Ye two leavin' so soon?" she asked.

" Yes, Sari, We've got to beat this storm back to the ball and socket." Emily said.

" Well then ye'd better scoot… this storm's a' comin' fast." She said, and bid farewell to Emily and Victor as they hurried out of the library.

Outside, it had begun to rain quite a bit… everywhere umbrellas were going up and corpse children were making a mad dash for home. Victor promptly took off his suit jacket and held it over Emily's head, and she chuckled a bit at his gentlemanliness. Taking the jacket and supporting it herself, she and Victor ran down the streets. Victors eyes were darting in all directions as he ran next to Emily who, despite Victor's jacket shielding her, had begun to get almost as wet as he was. He was noticing everything… the sky had become abnormally dark, and it gave the buildings a haunting appearance. Victor shuddered and glanced back at Emily, who had been holding Victor's jacket out to him.

" It's not doing so much good anymore… I'm soaked as it is, thank you anyway though." She said, and Victor smiled at her. After a few minutes of laughing and running, they were finally at the pub, bursting through the doors, they had startled Bonejangles so badly that he fell out of his chair and onto the floor.

" Alright! Not cool man…" He said, fixing his bowler and turning around to see who had frightened him, but his expression softened when he realized who it was. "Well look who it is… I was hoping you'd show up… this storm's pretty bad." Bonejangles said. Victor was wringing out his jacket outside the door and Emily held out her arms, watching the water drip off of them. She and Victor glanced at each other and chuckled, and Mrs. Plum came into the room.

" Why look at you two… your soaked to the bone… Oh dear… excuse the pun. Let's get you both cleaned and dried… Emily, you go in the shower first, your hair takes longer to dry. Just leave your clothes outside the door and I'll have them dried in no time." Emily nodded and started up the stairs for the bathroom. Victor sighed in relief.

" Good… we can still shower down here." He said quietly and he heard Emily call back down to him.

" Just because we're dead doesn't mean we can't be clean darling!" she called, and Victor looked at Mrs. Plum.

" How'd she…"

" hear you? She hears everything dearie… I swear she's got the hearing of a bat. Now, come with me Victor, I'll dry your jacket while your waiting for the shower." She said, and Victor obediently followed Mrs. Plum down into the basement of the ball and socket, where a small room was located with a clothes washer and dryer. Mrs. Plum took Victor's jacket from him and setting it on the drying table, she tended the fire below it. "Victor, be a dear and go collect Emily's clothes for me would you?" Victor nodded and went up the stairs, a little embarrassed by the request. When he reached the bathroom door, Emily's clothes were folded nicely in a pile outside the door, and Victor picked them up gently. Hearing a sound, it took him a minute to realize that Emily was singing.

_There's a song that's inside of my soul.  
It's the one that I've tried, to write over and over again…  
I'm awake in the infinite cold,  
But you sing to me over and over and over again._

_So I lay my head back down,  
And I lift my hands and pray, to be only yours I pray, to be only yours __I know now, you're my only hope_.

Victor stood against the bathroom door, listening to his wife sing… "_My god she has a beautiful voice_."He thought to himself, but then remembering his job, he brought Emily's clothes down to Mrs. Plum, who soon had them well on their way to being dried. After a few minutes, Victor went up to tell Emily that her dress was almost dry, and she opened the door, dressed in a blue fuzzy robe that covered her whole body. It even had a hood that she often used to dry excess water from her hair. Victor couldn't help but laugh at Emily.

" What? What's so funny?"

"y-you look like an Eskimo." He said chuckling.

" Laugh all you want… go ahead. I don't care." Emily said, trying to put on a face of indifference that only resulted in a giggling fit. She walked down the hall and stepped onto the first stair. "Mrs. Plum? Mrs. Plum are my clothes dry yet?" She called.

" Yes they are, you can come down and get them dear. Victor, have Emily show you how to work the shower, and I'll begin drying your clothes." Mrs. Plum called back. Emily took Victor's arm and led him into the bathroom… It was immaculate. It was painted a light blue, and had darker blue rugs adorning the floor. The shower Had a curtain matching the rugs, and it had a while liner underneath it (u know those liners that u put under a shower curtain?) Victor had never seen anything like it.

" Your technology is so advanced… our showers and baths back upstairs were nothing like this." Victor said.

" Well, the man who invented indoor plumbing eventually had to die right?" Emily giggled. " As I said before, we're quite a ways ahead of the living world… all of the great inventors who have died have come here, and they haven't stopped thinking and inventing."

" Wow… so people like Mozart and Beethoven are down here?"

" Yes…Oh!" Emily exclaimed " this bathroom scenery reminds me… I have to give you your injections."

" Oh wonderful." Victor frowned. " I still have to get needles even down here… whatever for?" He whined.

" Oh don't be such a baby… these needles are actually wonderful, and we have Elder Gutknecht to thank for them. The first one will actually stop your body from decaying, hence how I have not wasted away to a skeleton by now. This one can just be given in your arm.

" But then why do we have so many skeletons here?"

" It all depends on when they come to the town, and if they want their body to be preserved or not. The second injection is actually a blessing. I must give you this one directly into your stomach. It allows us to eat and drink as we please, without all of the issues of bodily waste. Whatever we out in just dissipates in our stomachs… the only thing that will effect us is alcohol or something of that nature." Emily said." Now, to work the shower you just turn those knobs to set the temperature, and pull the center thingy up to start the shower. I'm going to go and get dressed, so leave your clothes outside the door for me and I'll come pick them up. There is a spare robe in the closet for you." She said, and kissed Victor before she ran down the stairs. She came down to collect her clothes, and Mrs. Plum handed them to her smiling.

" There you are love, all nice and dry."

" Thank you Mrs. Plum… I'll go and fetch Victor's clothes now. I also need the anti decaying serum and the stomach vaccination." She said.

" those are in the green bag … which is in the cabinet over the stove."

"Alright, thank you Mrs. Plum." Emily said, happily running up the stairs. Mrs. Plum shook her head happily, and returned to her drying Some time after, Victor was dressed and out of the bathroom. He walked down the hall into what now was the bedroom he and Emily shared. He found Emily preening herself in front of a vanity. She was running a brush through her long blue hair, and to Victor's surprise, despite its matted appearance, it did not appear to be tangled in any way. Putting her brush down on the table, she tossed her hair behind her shoulder and began to look herself over again. She finally noticed Victor staring at her, and she jumped slightly.

" Oh! Victor… how long have you been standing there?" She asked.

" Not but a minute or two." He said in a hazy sort of voice.

" Are you ready for your injections." Victor heaved a sigh.

" I suppose so."

" Oh come now… would you rather have me doing it? Or some doctor who you don't know or trust nearly enough to let them get close to you with a syringe? Or would you rather become a skeleton?" She said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. For an instant, Victor saw his own mother in Emily's stead.

" Point taken… lets get this over with." He said, and Emily walked over to the bed and opened a large green bag. Taking out two small bottles two syringes, she motioned for Victor to come towards her.

" Ok… now lift up your shirt, Lets get this into your stomach first. I'll put it in right... Here." She poked a spot only an inch underneath his ribcage on his left side. Victor Lifted up his shirt and Emily resisted the urge to tickle him. As Emily reached over to grab the bottle, Victor noticed the size of the needle she held.

" T-that's an awfully large needle." He gulped.

" I know… but it's got to go into your stomach, so it has to be big." She said. She opened the top of the bottle and stuck the syringe in, drawing a Violet liquid from it. She closed the bottle and squeezed all of the air out of the syringe, then, she put her left hand on Victors midriff to steady herself, and pushed the needle into Victors stomach. Victor had never felt anything stranger in his life. He felt the cold metal pierce his skin, but to his shock he felt no pain. When Emily was sure that all of the liquid was gone, she withdrew the needle from Victor's stomach. "Now that wasn't so bad was it?" She said softly, kissing Victor's stomach next to where the needle had gone in.

" not at all… as a matter of fact I feel rather childish now." He said smiling, his cheeks turning a darker shade of blue.

" Well you should… You silly thing." She said, flicking his nose gently with her index finger. "Now lift up your sleeve so I can get the second one in. She said, and reached over for the second needle. Opening the other bottle she stuck the syringe in. This liquid was a deep green, and it seemed to have a bit of a glow to it. Squeezing the air out of it, she pushed it into victor's left arm. When she was finished, she closed the bottles and put them back in the bag along with the syringes.

" There… we're all finished… and you were such a good boy." She said mockingly. Victor laughed and fixed his shirt, Emily stood up and took his arm, and they walked downstairs together. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, A skeleton dog greeted them. He yipped happily as he saw Victor.

" There you are scraps, I was wondering where you had gone." Emily picked up the dog and handed him to Victor. Victor giggled.

" Hello there Scraps." Victor said, Taking his canine companion from Emily's arms.

" He must've followed Sammy and his sister Jessica home."

" Who?" Victor said as Scraps tried to nip his ear.

" The little skeleton boy and girl you saw."

" Oh yes, I remember them now… Sammy is the one that poked me with a stick…" Victor was desperately trying to hold onto Scraps, but the little dog wriggled out of his arms and began running to the front door. Victor got closer to the door, and saw that someone had walked inside.

" Victoria!" Victor and Emily said in unison, and Victoria's face lit up as she saw the two. Before she could say anything, she found herself wrapped up in the arms of both Emily and Victor.

" We were wondering when you would arrive, did you have any trouble finding the place?" Emily asked.

" No, not really… though I must say the journey here was a bit strange. This place is unlike anything I've ever seen. When I got down here, I asked a rather nice skeleton How to get here. A general I think he was." Victoria said as she was released from the hug. In truth, she was still extremely uneasy down here, but something about seeing Victor and Emily made her forget everything. Bonejangles came out of the main room, where some loud music could be heard playing, and he walked over to the three.

" Hey… you must be Victoria, pleasure to meet ya.. My name is Bonejangles… but you can call me BJ sweetcheeks." He said, giving a small, jazzy bow. She was a bit taken aback by the language he used, but soon found the charm of the smooth-talking skeleton. " Now, are you all comin in? Or do we hafta party without ya?" He said. Bonejangles took Victoria by the arm, and Victor and Emily followed close behind, chuckling at the expression on Victoria's face. When they entered the large main room, the music stopped, and Bonejangles spoke as loud as he could.

" Alright y'all thanks for bein' here tonight at the wedding reception! This lovely lady who I have on my arm has come all they way down from the land of the living just to party with us… Please welcome VICTORIA!" The pub erupted in cheers and applause as Bonejangles motioned for Victoria to take a seat, then he turned around and spoke again. "And now… may I present to you, the whole reason we're here tonight rockin the underworld… the newlyweds… please welcome… EMILY AND VICTOR!" He stood aside and the two stepped in. They were immediately greeted with applause and and cheers. Everywhere skeletons and corpses alike were banging on the tables, whistling, clapping, and showing there excitement. The music began to play and the party had begun. The dance floor remained empty, but the chattering and laughing had become loud. Drinks were being served at the bar, and Emily and Victor took a seat at a round table where Victoria was seated at. They were soon followed by Bonejangles….

To Be continued….

A/N: Lol That was part one of chapter four… I had originally planned to have chapter four all in one shot… but it came out to be over 20 pages long and I was sure that none of you would wanna read that all in one shot… I know I wouldn't Lol, So just stick with me as I post part two… Until then… griffin-queen out!


	5. Chapter four part two: At the Party

Author's note: hey all! Here's the second part in my three-part chapter… enjoy ! 

Chapter four Part II: The party

" What? I figured you guys would be up and partying by now."

" BJ It's only been thirty seconds." Emily said smiling.

" Exactly my point. Well, It's your party, you guys do what you want… I need a drink… anyone for punch?" He asked, and victor, Emily, and Victoria all declined, and he walked over to the large table where a number of assorted appetizers were set out. Victor gently nudged Emily, and pointed nonchalantly to Victoria, and Emily smiled. Victoria was slightly turned around in her seat, observing everything. She had never seen a place in her whole life that was more lively. Emily grinned at Victor in a sort of evil way, and suddenly stood up.

" Come Victoria, I'll introduce you to my friends." Victoria quickly turned to face Emily, she'd been discovered, and she suddenly felt very nervous.

" uhhh-" she soon felt the hand of the corpse bride tugging at her arm. Her hands felt cold on Victoria's arm, and it made her shudder briefly. She was soon coaxed out of her seat and led into the mass of partygoers. Victoria was overcome with a nervous nausea, she had never felt so different. Maybe once and a while in school… but never anything like this. She looked around at the corpses and skeletons, and noticed something she hadn't before… they were smiling at her. Emily had since released her hold on Victoria's arm and was now gently holding her hand. Emily was grinning from ear to ear as she moved through the crowd, saying a warm hello to all that looked her way. Victoria was carefully following Emily, but she was cut off by a skeleton who fell in between Emily and Victoria's hands. Victoria gasped and put a hand to her chest, and the skeleton picked himself up off of the floor and gave a small bow.

" Terribly sorry miss… I seem to have lost my balance." His rich cockney accent was flowing from his mouth. He rubbed his skull slightly and shrugged. Victoria Couldn't help but chuckle.

" That's alright… It is a bit crowded in here."

" Yeah… but that'll change once people start dancing. My name's Charles by the way. I play bass with the bone boys. We'll be playing later. If I remember correctly… you're… Victoria?"

"Yes, that's me. I can't wait to hear you play … Oh! Wait up Emily!" Victoria called out, and Emily turned around sharply, her eyes widening.

" Oh dear… I'm sorry." She chuckled, her voice was getting louder due to the combination of loud music and voices. " I thought you were still behind me." She said. Taking Victoria's hand again, she led Victoria to the back of the room by the bar, where Mrs. Plum was heard yelling at her chefs. She came out of the kitchen shaking her wooden spoon and mumbling.

" Mrs. Plum, this is Victoria.. You know, the girl we invited from upstairs?" Emily shouted.

" Ahh yes, the living girl…" Mrs. Plum clamped her hands over her ears. " come into the Kitchen girls… I can't hear a bloomin' thing!" This girls were ushered Into the kitchen, and Mrs. Plum sighed. " That's better…. Now… It's nice to meet you Victoria. I'm Mrs. Plum, head chef and caretaker of this here pub. If ya need anything don't hesitate to- oh yes! That's right. Should you need to use a restroom at any time during the night, we have one, it's right upstairs, the first door on your left."

" Thank you." Victoria said politely. She stood behind Emily, and she was clutching the corpse bride's arm as if she was almost afraid to let go. Emily noticed this and turned around.

" Darling you don't have to be so scared… we're not going to hurt you." She said, taking one of Victoria's hands. " Let's go see what Victor and the others are doing shall we?" Victoria nodded and the two walked out into the main room, where the music had become loud. Victor was sitting at the table, with him were Bonejangles and another corpse known as Barney. Victor had a small plate of food in front of him. Emily sat down on one side of the other, and Victoria on the other. Emily put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them a moment later when something was touching her lips.

" Try this." Victor said, holing a carrot covered in some sort of dip. She gently took at from his fingers, being careful not to bite them, and after chewing it for a few seconds, she nodded and smiled to show her approval. Emily's eyes lit up when the band struck an even more upbeat tune. She stood up suddenly and grabbed Victor's hands.

" Come on!" She said playfully. "Come dance with me!" Victor held his ground firmly.

" N-no I don't think so… I-I can't dance." He said sheepishly. Emily rolled her eyes.

" Please?" She put on her most sincere puppy face. (think of the face she used to ask elder Gutknecht to go upstairs.) Once again giving Victor's hands a gentle tug.

" N-no thank you….. Maybe later alright Emily?" he said, desperately not wanting to dance, but not wanting to hurt her feelings either. He was immensely relieved when she rolled her eyes.

" Ohh… Fine then, but as soon as a slow song comes on, you'd better be out there with me." She said. And walked on to the dance floor. Victor had hoped that she wasn't too miffed about him not dancing, but he wasn't ready to make a fool out of himself just yet. Bonejangle's prodded him with his elbow.

" Now why aren't you out there dancing with her? I know you want to." He said, and Victor couldn't help but agree. He did want to dance with Emily, but he knew it would end in disaster. He was the living breathing example of having two left feet. Victor said nothing, but turned back to Victoria, who had a big smile on her face. She noticed that he was looking at her and smiled wider.

" It does look like fun doesn't it?" Victor smiled " except that I'm not dressed for it and I would make a complete fool of myself." Victoria chuckled, and Victor turned his eyes back to Emily. He watched her dance, the way her slender frame swished back and forth to the music, and the way she waved her arms about. It wasn't the uptight style of dancing he and Victoria were used to, but she retained a certain sense of elegance even so. Victor was dying to stand up and walk out there, but his nerves kept him tied to the seat. Bonejangles saw this and got up and yanked Victor out of his seat.

" Just because you're afraid of makin' a fool outta your self is NO reason not to dance with your wife… get OUT there Victor." Bonejangles gave Victor huge push, and Victor thought of running back, but something kept him walking. He walked to the dance floor, where Emily and a large group of people were dancing their hearts out. Victor walked nervously to the edge of the dance floor, and when Emily saw him standing there, she looked as if she would explode from Happiness. She ran over to him.

" Are you ready to dance with me now?" She said, clasping her hands in front of her.

" I'm ready… teacher." He said, still a bit unsure of himself. She squealed with happiness and led him onto the dance floor, where everywhere nonchalant eyes watched him. She stood in front of him, and started dancing, brimming with joy when he started following her. Victor had never been more confused in his life… here he was, nervous as anything, and in just a few seconds, he felt as though he was the only one standing by Emily. The outer world disappeared, and he wondered if she felt the same. They twirled around each other, dancing perfectly. Victor had never felt so elated.. He felt as if nothing could bother him at this moment. All he could see or think of was his gorgeous wife and the way she and him danced together.  
Before either of them knew it, the song had ended. Victor and Emily landed in a pose that caused the whole place to go up in raucous cheers and applause. The couple walked back to the seat, where both were blushing a wild shade of blue.

" You see? You CAN dance… you dance perfectly." Victoria said with a slight giggle, which made Victor only blush worse.

" Yeah man… You brought the house down… and It's only the second song!" Bonejangles raised his glass to Victor, then draining the glass, the red punch spilling down his ribcage. Emily turned to Victor.

" So? Still worried about making a fool of yourself." She said sarcastically.

" Not at all… that was the most fun I've had in…well… ever!" He replied with a shrug, and Emily laughed.  
As an hour quickly rolled by, the group sat at the table, talking and laughing about nothing in particular. Occasionally they would get up and mingle with the crowd, but they always returned to the table. Victoria had also joined in the fun. She was becoming more and more comfortable around the people down here. Finding that she liked it here a lot more than her current life upstairs. She found herself talking with them, and laughing like she had never laughed before. She looked up at Victor, who was staring straight ahead, his arm around Emily. She was quickly ashamed and turned her gaze back to something else. Emily looked across Victor to Victoria… she noticed that she looked sort of lonely. Looking quickly to her left to see Bonejangles stand up, and turned back and elbowed Victor in the stomach.

" What was that for?" He said, slightly miffed.

" Put your arm around Victoria." Emily had barely any emotion on her face when she said this

" What?" Victor's eyes went wide… what was Emily saying?

" Just do it… " Wondering why she would care… Victor decided not to argue, and slipped his arm around Victoria's shoulders. Her eyes instantly widened, and she looked up at Victor, who smiled in return. She then looked over at Emily, who was also smiling. Victoria couldn't help but smile, and she relaxed under Victor's arm. Bonejangle's walked back to the table, and almost dropped his plate when he saw the sight. He chuckled slyly.

" Well well well…. Look at this… Victor… Mr. ladies man. I always knew you had it in ya." he chuckled. Victor's cheeks darkened, and Victoria and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

" Don't you listen to him Victor, he's just jealous." Emily said.

" Heh.. I ain't jealous… speakin' of jealous. I'm surprised that jerk Barkis didn't show tonight. Must be in some alleyway feelin' sorry for himself." Bonejangles scoffed, and Emily's content expression turned sour in a matter of milliseconds.

" He sets one finger within a hundred feet of this place and I swear on my afterlife that I'll rip him to shreds." Her bitter tone made Victor shudder, he could feel the deep vibrations from her throat on his chest, and it only signified hatred. Victoria was the only one not effected by Emily's statement, she was caught up in her own thoughts.

" How… exactly do you know lord Barkis?" Victoria asked, completely unaware of the story behind it all.

" Painfully long story… I'd rather no-."

" It's quite a story, and as with most stories, there's only one way to tell it." Bonejangles beckoned to his band, signifying which song to play. " hit it boys!" He yelled before Emily could respond. That Oh-so-familiar song began, the song about how Emily died, and how she became the infamous Corpse Bride. Emily was visibly flinching… this song wasn't exactly what she needed to hear. As the bar erupted in cheers for Bonejangles and his band. Emily took the chance and ran out through the back door to the balcony of the pub, but to Victor's surprise, Victoria was right at her heels. He wondered if Emily would be alright… perhaps it was best to let Victoria comfort Emily. Victor was in hopes that the two favorite people in his life… could maybe become friends.  
Emily ran out onto the balcony and grabbed a hold of its railing. She promised herself she wouldn't cry… the tears welled up in her eyelids… but she dare not let them fall. No, not tonight, on the second happiest night of her life, she would not cry. However, in spite of itself, a single tear made it's way down her face, and she threw mental curses at it as it made its way down her cheek Emily snapped to attention when she heard the door click, followed by a few tiny footsteps, that became louder. Emily was unsure of who's feet they were, but she knew they weren't Victor's… no, these feet were more feminine, more dainty. Emily almost jumped out of her skin when she felt two hands on her shoulders… she turned around and who she saw staring at her almost made her heart start beating.

" Victoria?" She said skeptically.

" I- I'm sorry." Victoria said feebly.

" Sorry? Whatever for?"

" F-for everything. I -I had no idea" She said quietly, and collapsed in tears. Emily stood for a second, bewildered, and then kneeled down to comfort the sobbing girl.

" Victoria, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for…" Emily was utterly confused at this sudden outburst, all she could do was offer Victoria a handkerchief, which she accepted graciously.

" T-thank you. " She hiccupped, taking the handkerchief. " I suppose you think I'm a fool now… sitting here sniveling like this." Her next noise… Emily couldn't tell if it was a sob or a chuckle.

" Considering all the crying I've done… you're a saint." Emily desperately tried to quiet the girl.. But couldn't help thinking to herself… "_Is this how people see me? Is this what I look like when I cry_?" She shook her head back to reality just in time to hear Victoria speak again.

" Mother would never approve of this… Crying is improper for a lady." She said coldly

" Crying… Improper? Victoria…" Emily said gently. " What sort of hellish world do you live in?"

" Hellish is the perfect word… It is a world that makes being dead seem better than anything… I do hope you don't take that personally" She replied flatly.

" Not at all…. Now… One doesn't just burst into tears for no reason… there's something you want to talk to me about, yes?" Victoria wondered how Emily knew almost exactly what she was thinking, but she picked her head up and looked Emily straight in the eyes.

" Like I said before… I'm sorry."

" I heard, but what are you sorry for? I can't think of any possible reason you have to be sorry for."

" I'm just sorry for being so terribly closed-minded. When I heard Victor had eloped with a corpse, I was disgusted and horrified… To say the least" She took note of how Emily flinched, and it made her feel slightly worse. "I would stop at nothing to save Victor from this corpse, and to be wedded to him as it was planned the day prior.. I was so caught up in my own vendetta, I never really thought about you." A fresh stream of tears made their way down Victoria's face. " It wasn't until that night, at the chapel… that I realized my own faults. When I saw you standing with Victor at the altar I noticed the happy tears in your eyes… and It reminded me that you may no longer be alive, but your feelings, your spirit never died. I felt so ashamed, so selfish, I had to let him go back to you. You two are perfect for each other… and I'm sorry for not realizing it before I caused you all that pain." Victoria gave one final sob, and dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief Emily had given her. Emily's resistance had long since disappeared, and she too had tears coming down her face… but this time when Emily spoke, her voice did not waver or shake in the least.

" As touching as that is, I'm afraid you still have nothing to apologize for… It is me who should be talking… No, not just talking, I should be on my knees thanking you, and Since I'm already on my knees, I'll just begin talking. I can't thank you enough for what you did for me. You gave me a second chance at love and happiness… and you did it at your own free will. No one has ever done something like that for me… I thought My chance was over, I had lived my life and I blew it. Words can't even begin to describe how sorry I felt… but I felt sorry for myself, which isn't the most selfless thing ever. When I met Victor… I was overjoyed. He was everything I wanted, and then some… but then I saw you, his intended wife, and I was crushed. I was filled with anger, and hatred for you… but then I saw you that night, and All of those feelings disappeared. I had to let Victor go… I did not deserve to keep him trapped here with me, You needed him, and for a while I thought he needed you. You cannot imagine how happy I was when I saw him down here again… and for that I thank you, for giving me a second chance…."

" Everyone deserves a second chance Emily."

" I didn't… not when it was my own stupidity that landed me here."

" You're far from stupid… I trust you've heard the saying "Love is blind" Before?"

" Yes… love is in fact blind… I learned that the hard way… and look how I'm paying for it." Emily gestured to herself, showing her blue skin and tattered form. " And to think That Barkis was once handsome in my eyes…" Emily shuddered and burst out in laughter after that, as did Victoria.

" I could never imagine him being handsome…" Victoria shuddered. " And before we completely move off the subject of thanks… I must also thank you."

" For what?"

" For showing me fun, and life… if this makes any sense… the dead are more alive than the living." Both girls chuckled. "But in all seriousness… I feel more at home here than with the two people that gave me life… I feel like, for once in my stuffy, boring, uptight life, that I can actually relax… It appears to me that Victor feels the same, I've never seen him so relaxed… and… this is rather silly… But that was the first time I have ever been applauded for entering a room." Victoria chuckled. " It was such a nice change from what I get at home."

" It can't be all that bad… do your parents hit you?"

" Heavens no! Nothing that severe… but being told that you have "the face of an otter in disgrace" Doesn't do a lot for one's self esteem either."

" T-that's awful… they actually said that to you?" Emily asked, and Victoria nodded solemnly.

" They said it straight to my face… they treat me like I don't have any willpower or brain of my own … So I've grown up having to basically fend for myself… the closest thing I have to a mother was my wonderful nurse Hildegarde. She is always fussing over me… the way a mother should. Although I must say my mother does retain some motherly qualities… you know, kissing me goodnight and little things like that… but I'm more attached to my nurse than my own mother… strange for a young girl isn't it?"

" That is slightly strange… hope I haven't offended you…"

" Oh gosh no…. don't worry, I may look like a normal stuffy, Victorian girl, but I am rather difficult to offend." Emily breathed a sigh of relief.

" I'm glad… I'm not offended easily either."

" Really? I always assumed you would be easy to offend… after all you've been through."

" One would think that… but in truth, it was those experiences that made me strong

" I guess that makes sense…"

"But…at any rate… You're not strange for not being attached to your mother this is where the other important people come into play… which is why… Victoria… I'd like to put our entire history behind us and start anew… as … friends." Emily ended her sentence in a whisper, as if she was afraid of what Victoria might say. She said nothing, only smiled, and threw her arms around Emily's neck.

" I'd like that." Victoria said, and Emily smiled, putting her arms around Victoria… neither of them knew it, but an inseparable bond was already forming between the two… a bond much like that of an older and younger sister. They broke away from each other when Victor opened the door. Victoria noticed the way Emily's eyes shone even brighter when he entered the room… there was no denying it, Emily was truly gorgeous, but Victoria felt no jealousy at all. It filled her with warmth the way the two looked at each other.

" E-excuse me… I do hope I haven't come at an inopportune time.. But I believe it is time for the groom to s-share a dance with his lovely bride." Victor said.

" How is that inopportune?" Emily said, and Victoria laughed. Emily took Victor's outstretched arm and he led her into the pub, where all of the eyes were on them. The slow music began to play, Emily wrapped her hands around Victor's neck, and he placed his hands on her slender waist. The two swayed to the music, both completely comfortable with one another, and not even the least bit perturbed by the fact that every single pair of eyes in the entire establishment was on them.

" So… have you and Victoria made amends?"

" We have… although I don't think we were ever really fighting… maybe mentally… but that's about it." Emily said.

" h-"

" Shhh…" Emily put a finger to Victor's lips, then put her hand back around his neck. She rested her head on his chest, taking as much in of him as she could. Victor was doing the same, closing his eyes, he rested his cheek on top of her head. If everyone in that room had some sort of other worldly power… allowing them to see the unseen, they would see a remarkable sight. The bodies of Victor and Emily still resided on the dance floor, caught in the rhythmic pattern of the music. Their souls had long since left their bodies and had become totally entwined with one another, dancing wildly in eternal bliss and adoration.  
At this point… there was not a dry eye in the pub…Pictures were being taken… and anyone who still had tear ducts left was shedding tears of joy for the bride that they had come to know and love. Even the rough and tumble Bonejangles, not being able to cry, sounded choked up when he spoke. He looked at Victoria, who was also crying…

" I'm gonna tell ya right now… if I could cry, I'd be bawlin right now." He threw his arm around Victoria. She didn't look frightened in the least.

" They're picture perfect." She said.

" Got that Right Sweetheart… ya know.. This may sound a bit off… but Emily's like a daughter to me. Mrs. Plum and I, we're like the parents she lost…"

" She lost both of her parents?"

" No… Her father died when she was small… he was killed in the war… Her mother was the only one she had left." Victoria nodded, and rested her head on Bonejangle's ribcage. Her mother would be furious if she saw the way Victoria had been actin, but she decided that for this night…she just didn't care.  
After what seemed like an eternity to the two lovers. The song had ended. Their lips met in a gentle kiss only seconds after the final note of the song. The pub erupted in cheers once again… cheers so loud it felt as if the very foundation would crack. The two still had not left their dancing position. Emily looked up at Victor again, she saw that his eyes looked misty. She had never before seen a young man cry. She gave a small gasp and put her hands on his face. Caressing cheeks with her thumbs, tears fell from Victor's eyes.

" I never dreamed I'd find a soul mate so special as you. Well, I just want you to know that I love you… I love you with all that I am. I cannot wait to spend every waking moment in your presence. I may be a bumbling fool at times, but I can assure you that you will never be lonely again…I just hope I can be the husband you deserve." Victor wrapped his arms around Emily, shaking slightly. Emily didn't put her arms back around his neck, but rested them on his chest, allowing herself to be fully enveloped by him.

" You're all of that… and so much more. I promise you that you are… I wont ever ask for money… or fame… or expensive things… anything like that. All I ask is that you love me.. And keep me close… " She said quietly. When they finally broke apart, the music became upbeat and people flooded the dance floor as Emily and Victor walked off and sat down at their seats.

" That was beautiful." Victoria said, and Emily and Victor smiled in return. Victor took a sip of his punch, and offered the rest to Emily, which she accepted. Victoria wondered to herself how they weren't disgusted at the thought of sharing drinks and food. Everything was so different here… she couldn't help but love it. The people were relaxed, and just... living She was a bit startled when Victor's voice rang through her ears.

"Having a good time?" He asked with a smile.

" The most fun I've had in my entire life… and you can bet your afterlife on that." She replied, and Victor's smile became even wider. Emily and Bonejangle's had gotten into an argument about something, and Emily was defending herself in snippy little blurbs of sentences. Victor's face changed from happy to alarmed instantly, and he turned around and put his hands on Emily's shoulders.

" Emily! What's the problem?" He asked as she spun around to face him.

" The chicken or the egg?" She asked quickly.

" What?"

" The chicken or the egg!" She asked again huffily.

" The…chicken, I suppose." Emily growled in defeat and sat back in her chair pouting. Bonejangles got up and started dancing around.

" Oh yeah! Hah! Told ya!" He taunted, as Emily's scowl grew, she turned her face away from the dancing skeleton to meet Victor's large eyes.

" Kind of a silly thing to be pouting about, no?" He said.

" No."

" Oh I think so." Victor said, bringing his nose to meet Emily's. " You know you can't keep a straight face for long." His words proved true when Emily's smile returned and she giggled softly. " See?"

" No fair… cheater." She chuckled. Mrs. Plum walked out of the kitchen carrying two knives, she walked up to Emily and Victor.

" You two ready for cake?" She asked. " We've got to start wrappin' this party up… I'm getting tired. We'll have cake, play a few more songs, then start kickin these party animals out… I swear, some of them could stay here forever if we let 'em."

" I know what you mean…alright… Come Victor, let's go." Emily stood up and led Victor to a table on the other side of the pub. Mrs. Plum came out of the kitchen, followed by three chefs who carried the cake. It was so large that it took every single one of their hands to lift it.

" Alright everyone! Gather round, it's time for dessert." Miss Plum shouted and waved her arms about, and soon the partygoers were all gathered around that one table. The chefs set the cake down on the table, and Emily and Victor were handed a knife and a stack of plates. Emily sat the stack of plates down and put her hand on top of Victor's, which was holding the knife. Mrs. Plum stood on a chair and had to yell at the top of her lungs to be heard above all of the other voices.

" Alright everyone! Settle down! Settle down…now, on behalf of the newlyweds, I'd like to thank everyone for being here tonight. Now it's time to serve the wedding cake. Then, we'll play a few more songs for ya, ending with Bonejangles and his bone boys… and then it's time for you all to go home so that yours truly can get some sleep… sound good?" She was answered with cheers and clapping. Victor and Emily came in front of the table, carefully disassembling the cake so it would be easier to slice. They stood side by side and cut two slices of cake for themselves… picking them up and putting them on plates, they noticed that all eyes were on them. Emily and Victor chuckled, took a forkful of cake, and inserted the fork into the others' mouth. The crowd was cooing as Emily swallowed the cake, then she looked down at the plate, then up at Victor.

" Victor."

" yes." He said after swallowing.

" You know what would make this really interesting." She positioned the plate a special way in her hand. She looked at it and then back at Victor.

" No…what?" Without another word, Emily took her plate of cake and completely smashed it in Victor's face, and it wasn't long until he did the same. Both were laughing hysterically, as was the entire pub. Victor and Emily were thrown two towels as they began the task of cleaning the cake off of their faces. The cake was being served and the party picked up again, Emily was out on the dance floor, screaming and shouting happily like there was no tomorrow. Victor stood at the edge of the dance floor, clapping and laughing, yet he was still a bit shy and stood behind all of the other bystanders.  
The hours rolled by, and the pub was at its peak of liveliness, until a slow song quieted them, as did Bonejangles.

" Alright everyone… it's getting late… I hope y'all enjoyed the party tonight… I know I did! Now… it's time for one last slow song, and then it's time for y'all to hightail it on home… men, grab your gals." He said, and the band struck up a slow, happy tune. Many women were asking Bonejangles to dance, but he declined them all. No, he had a special person in mind…

" C'mon Victoria…dance with me?" He asked, holding out his hand to her.

" Oh… I don't know…"

" Aww C'mon… no one should have to sit out the last dance…'specially not one as pretty as you." She hesitated at first, but then took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Emily and Victor were already dancing together, when Emily looked up and noticed Victoria…

" Victor… Victor look." She had obviously torn him out of a trance.

" What?"

" Look at the couple… over there." She jerked her head, and Victor's eyes widened and he smiled, shaking his head and then resting his cheek on top of Emily's head again.

" I can't believe this is the last dance… the night went so fast."

" I know it did… I've never had so much fun… now I understand what they mean when they say time flies when you're having fun." Emily giggled at this

" I love you." She said through her giggling.

" I love you too Emily." He kissed her nose gently as Bonejangles walked up to the microphone again.

" Alright everyone… that was the last song… I hope you all enjoyed yourselves… thanks again for bein here…and have a safe trip home… G'night all!" there was one last round of applause, and Emily followed Victor to the door to thank the guests as they walked out. They made sure that Victoria was the last to leave.

" Come, we'll walk you to the graveyard." Victor took her hand and they departed for the graveyard.  
When they reached the graveyard, and eerie fog had set in. Victoria shivered and twisted the silver ring nervously around her finger. Emily and Victor stopped in front of Emily's old gravestone.

" Well Victoria, this is where we leave you… I hope your parents aren't too angry with you for being so late."

"No… I don't think they will be… I'll just sneak in the back way.. I'm sure Hildegarde is still awake."

" Well, alright then… You know what to do."

" Yes… oh, and before I forget." Victoria began to remove the ring from her finger, but Emily's hands stopped her.

" keep it with you…If there's ever a time when you need to escape… or if you ever feel up for a visit…" Emily put her arms around Victoria in a warm hug, and Victor did the same soon after.

" Thank you both so much… I'll never forget this night…good bye." Victoria stepped up to the grave and whispered that magic word…and she was gone in a flash of green smoke. Emily took Victor's hand and they began the journey back home.

When they reached the ball and socket, Mrs. Plum and Bonejangles were cleaning up.

"Mrs. Plum? Would you Like some help?" Emily asked.

" No, we're quite alright down here, you two can go on upstairs and get ready for bed now… you must be beat." They did as they were told and walked up the stairs. Emily led Victor into the bedroom and closed the door tightly.

" Victor… let's get out of here."

" What?" Victor was completely taken aback by Emily's words.

" Let's go somewhere… I'm way too full of energy to sleep, let's go into the forest tonight."

" But how would we get up there? Elder Gutknecht would surely b-"

" No no… not that forest…the one that's down here… it's beautiful at night… but the moon sure isn't as pretty…. It always looks so far away." Emily's voice trailed off but Victor caught her before she slipped into a daze… for he too was intrigued by the idea.

" But what should we tell Mrs. Plum and Bonejangles? It'd be a bit odd to tell them we were running off into the forest in the middle of the night.

" We don't have to tell them… And it would only Mrs. Plum… Bonejangles is going home for the night…"

" All right then… let's get some things together and then we'll wait."

Emily got a large bag from the closet and they began to shove random things in it. They packed bathing suits( I'm just having them wear modern style bathing suits because those were the easiest to visualize), blankets, a book, and many other random things. Emily closed the bag and set it on the bed, chuckling at how much it bulged.

" Let's go downstairs, I thin I hear Bonejangles getting ready to leave." Victor said, and ran down the stairs with Emily right at his heels. Bonejangles saw them and jumped back a bit.

" Woah woah! Where's the fire?" He said.

" We wanted to catch you before you left… we wanted to thank you for a wonderful night tonight" Victor said.

" Well that's mighty nice of ya… I had a blast… but now it's time for me to tumble on home… I'm tired as anything. Congrats to both of you…and don't be up too late, ya hear?" Emily and Victor nodded their heads, and Bonejangles shook Victor's hand , and gave Emily a huge bear-hug, and with that he was out the door and homebound. Mrs. Plum walked up to them, shaking her heads.

" Throws a party like no one's ever seen before…and he can't even stick around to help clean up." She sighed heavily and walked back into the kitchen.

" I think we're going to bed Mrs. Plum." Emily said, winking at Victor.

" All right dears… I'm opening the windows tonight… this place reeks to high heaven what with all that Cigar smoke. You may want to close your door… It'll be a bit chilly.

" Alright… good night!" they said, and walked upstairs as Mrs. Plum shouted a good-night to them. Not knowing that their door had been shut tight and they were already out on the balcony climbing down to the street below….

A/N… All right! You guys did it… you survived part two.. Lol Please tell me what you thought… READ AND REVIEW! And part three is coming up soon… so hang tight! Until then.. Griffin-queen out!


	6. Chapter four part three: Afterwards

A/N: hey all! Griffin-queen here telling to you read the end authors note for details on this chappy 

Chapter four part three

Emily and Victor walked hand in hand deep into the forest, the warm night air swirled around them, kicking up leaves and making them swirl in circles before finally coming to rest on the forest floor again. They walked for about fifteen minutes before finally coming to a clearing. Emily set their large bag down and began to spin in circles slowly, surveying the area.

"What do you think about here? I've been here before, the lake is right over there, and the trees are tall and thick enough that no one will see the smoke when we build a fire."

"Alright then… I'll go and gather some firewood...and you stay here and-" He stopped short when Emily began to shake her head violently, looking like a scared child

"I'm coming with you… I'm not staying here alone." He caught on quickly and took her hand. They went into the woods and began picking up branches. Victor had a large bundle of branches in his hand, when he happened to look over at Emily, who had an equal amount.

"Umm… Emily?"

"Yes?"

"Just how many fires are we planning to build?" Emily giggled.

"I take it we have enough sticks then." She handed her branches to Victor and they went back to the clearing.  
They built a fire pit out of rocks, and using a match from their bag, they soon had a large fire going. Emily spread out a blanket for her and Victor to sit on and Victor had gotten up to get another branch. He was on his way back when his foot got caught on a root and he fell flat on his face (hmm… look familiar ?). Emily saw this as oddly familiar and fell back on the blanket. Both her hands had flown up to her mouth, and her shoulders were twitching wildly.

" Uhh…" Victor moaned, and peeled himself up of the ground. He looked at Emily, and walked over to her. She had long since given up all hope of containing her laughter, her laughs rang out through the trees, and Victor kneeled down beside her.

" are you laughing at me?" She was laughing to hard to speak, but when she saw him moving towards her… she barely had time to mutter an "uh-oh." before she had scrambled to her feet and took off into the forest.  
Her long legs carried her through the trees in graceful leaps and bounds, with Victor close at her heels. Every time he would gain on her, she would squeal and always find a way to evade him. The adrenaline was rushing through their bodies, and their rampant pursuit soon turned into an organized game of tag. The cries of "you're it!" and laughter echoed through the forest, and the moon itself seemed to smile down on the two lovers. They swirled throughout the trees, chasing each other and eventually succeeding, only to turn around and be chased themselves. Emily was often "it" Less than Victor was, for she was skilled in dodging. When she was "it" though, Victor scrambled blindly through the trees to avoid her. He even ran into one or two of the trees trying to avoid her, but she would always catch him, and squeal as he took off after her.

Victor was having the time of his life… he was even a bit surprised at himself… he had never been this involved in any sort of play. Even thought it was only he and Emily, he had never been like this… all of the hesitance was put to the back of his head as he ran through the trees after his wife. Victor was the first to be worn out, and Emily purposefully ran into him, knocking him over into a pile of leaves that had accumulated on the floor. Victor struggled to get Emily off of him, but found that he couldn't. They continued their playful wrestling for what seemed like forever, rolling over one another in an attempt to gain dominance. After a while, both Emily and Victor had ceased the wrestling. They lay on the ground, Emily on top of Victor, laughing. Victor raised his arms and began removing the leaves from Emily's hair. She giggled slightly, but then her expression became serious

" Oh dear." she said wearily.

" W-what is it?" Victor opened his eyes.

" We left the fire burning… I hope it hasn't died out" She stood up quickly, and quickly found that that was a mistake. She staggered backwards. Victor's hands came under her arms to keep her from falling.

" Come, let's go check on it ." He picked her up bridal-style and carried her back to their campsite, where they found that the fire had already died down greatly. Emily sat on the blanket and watched Victor tend to the fire, putting a few small branches on it so that it returned to it's former height. He sat down next to her and looked up at the sky.

"Gorgeous night out… although you were right about the moon… It does seem awfully far away.

"yes…" She gazed starry-eyed up at the moon, and her head found it's way to Victor's shoulder. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. As his arm was around her, his hand wrapped itself around her tiny waist, and soon became aware of the spot where her ribs were exposed. He absentmindedly began to run his fingers over the spot, and his face became flushed when she noticed.

" Yes Victor… those are my ribs." She said through a giggle. " what's so interesting about them?"

" Oh I-its noth-I um, well." He shook his head and Emily giggled again.

" You know, that's not regular decay." She said, and he looked at her strangely.

" I didn't know there were different types of decay."

" Well of course there are…" Her face suddenly became very serious. "look". She gently pulled herself out of Victor's embrace, and turned her back to him, and slowly began to undo the buttons at the back of her wedding dress, until the whole top of her body was bare. Victor was blushing wildly, and turned his head away in modesty, and Emily heard his slight gasp.

" Oh come now… we're married…and you can't see anything can you?"

" N-no." He still had his head turned.

" Then look at me… I want to show you something." He turned his head to look at Emily, her bare back was still facing him, and what he saw made his jaw hit the floor… He saw a scar on Emily's back. On the right side just about an inch under her shoulder blade. The scar was very thin, but it was about three inches in length. The skin around the scar had decayed slightly. Victor gasped, and moved towards Emily, he put his fingers on her back and traced the scar with them. Emily winced at his touch, but didn't pull away or resist in anyway.

"this is…horrible." Victor continued to rest his fingers on the scar.

"that's how he did it."

" how who did what?"

" Barkis…that's how he killed me."

" W-what?" Victor exclaimed.  
" That's right…h-he stabbed me. He came up behind me…and he stabbed me. Stabbed me so hard that it went through the other side of me… and the front part must've gotten so much bacteria in it that it ate my flesh away… hence why my ribs are showing…"

" So you basically died, and then drowned-

" In my own blood…yes. Have you any idea what that's like?"

" No…" Victor shook his head, and a psychotic shiver coursed through Emily's body. She covered the front of herself with her dress and Victor buttoned the five buttons.

" I-its just awful to carry this burden around… not so much the fact that I was killed on the eve of my wedding… or even that it was my fiancé that killed me… it's just that…" dropped her head down. Victor looked at her.

" Just that what?"

" Never mind." Emily's eyes remained shut… knowing full well that if she opened them the tears would come. They had no choice but to open, however, when Victor wrapped his arms around her from behind.

" You can tell me…"

" No it's alright…. I'm okay." She said, She shivered when she felt Victor's lips form words up against her ear.

" Well that's all well and fine… now tell me the truth." He whispered….she had been defeated.

" It… It's." She took a deep breath. " It's just so hard to carry the memory that it was indeed my fault… I was talking to Victoria at the part about this very thing… It was my own stupidity that got me killed… oh If only I had listened…"

" You mother told you no?"

" Yes… I asked for permission to marry him as he had proposed to me a day earlier… and she said no…. no marriage until I was 21..." Emily's eyes traveled back to the ground and her voice lowered… it became so that Victor had to move his ears even closer to hear it…. " I didn't even make it that far…."

" Well…everyone makes mistakes Emily… and sometimes we pay dearly for these mistakes." Emily flinched. " But things always have a way of working out."

" It's just that it's been so long since anything HAS worked out for me… It seems like every time I'm just comfortable in my own skin something ALWAYS goes wrong…and I'm miserable again… w-what if this is the same way." As she had expected, tears blurred her vision. She growled in rage. " I hate Barkis… I HATE HIM!" She screamed, spiraling downward into an emotional relapse…  
Victor recoiled as she screamed, forgetting that his ear was so close to her. Shaking with a combination of anger and agony, she let out another fierce scream and inhaled sharply… a bitter sob escaping her throat. " But its my fault too… I hate Barkis… because he tricked me… but then I feel as thought I can't hate him entirely because I BELIEVED HIM!" she screamed… "I'm so damn confused all the time!" Victor was shocked… never before had he heard Emily use any type of profanity… Mordant tears fell from her face and onto the blanket, where they left tiny wet stains. Victor turned her around so that she faced him, and her face fell on his shoulder. He put his arms around her waist again. He rested his head on the side of her head as he felt her bury her face in the crook of his neck. Her voice was muffled by his neck as her choked voice ripped right through him. He held her tight as she cried on his shoulder… but at this particular moment it didn't seem to Victor like it was doing much good

" And now look at me… I cry too much… It's like I'm a crying miserable mess more than I am happy…or even just fit to be seen by anyone." She began crying harder, and he only held her tighter, his heart was beginning to weaken, and he fought himself not to cry.

" It's not possible for anyone to cry to much…. You know Emily… I don't think you've even come to terms with how much pain you have inside you… it's got to escape somehow… I hate Barkis too for what he's done… he's a horrible excuse for a man… b-but I'm not going to lie to you either…. It was I-indeed your fault…but not directly… you were being tricked…under a spell of sorts, it's almost as if you were hypnotized he was manipulating you so well, but you couldn't have known… I know it hurts…so just relax… It's okay… you can cry... " He put a hand on the back of her head and began running his fingers through her hair. Her anguished howls soon quieted to sorrowful sobs as she clung to him tightly.  
Emotionally spent…Emily closed her eyes and shut out most of her surroundings… Victor held her ever closer to him… comforting his broken angel… She sighed sadly in his arms, and he buried his face in her hair, which still held the aroma of dried flowers. He kissed her neck, and closed his eyes. He could feel Emily's body quiver as she sobbed quietly… and Victor tried desperately to quiet her…. To quell the raging storm within her heart…. Victor opened his eyes and spoke into her ear.

" I think I've found the perfect nickname for you… we can use it on occasion as an alias." She turned around and looked at him in confusion…. The tears falling down her face made his insides turn to mush.

" W-what?" She sniffled quietly, he smiled slightly.

" I think I'm going to call you Storm…" He said finally.

" Storm….. Why storm?"

" Oh I have my reasons… do you like it?"

" It's pretty." She said, as more tears ran down her face and she sobbed. Victor hugged her again and whispered soft noises in her ear, which seemed to calm her troubled thoughts for the moment.

" Shhh….it's okay… I'm here." He whispered. Emily gave one final sob, finding solace in her husband's neck. He gently rocked her back and forth, which brought forth a few tiny whimpers from Emily, which eventually changed to a contented sigh as she slowly settled down. Victor used his thumbs to wipe Emily's tears away, and after they were gone he brought his face to hers and planted butterfly kisses on each eyelid. She smiled sweetly, and Victor's eyes widened.

"Uh-oh…. Is that? Could it be? Yes… I think that's a smile I see on your face." This was having the desired effect as Emily's smile widened, and a giggle escaped her mouth. She shifted in his arms so that her back was to him again. Victor rested his cheek on Emily's back, and gently kissed the spot above the scar, taking note of how horribly tense and knotted the muscles in her back were. He was wondering how he hadn't noticed it sooner.

" You must stop thinking like this… it's all in the past now."

" It may be the past, but that doesn't change the fact that it happened. My fatal flaw is that I sometimes let those thoughts take over my mind, I let them control me. People sometimes tell me I'm difficult because I refuse to let the past die… but it's so hard…" She fixed her dress and Victor looked as if he was going to help her button it, but he didn't. He lifted her gently and laid her on her stomach, where she crossed her elbows and supported her head.

" What are you doing?" She asked, although much tired to sit up again. He said nothing, but put his two hands on her back and began massaging her mangled muscles. His thumbs penetrated deep into her back, and although painless to her…she hissed and moaned in disgust as she felt her muscles moving and loosening. After the bulk of the tension had been massaged out… Emily's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and her eyes fluttered closed, her body now completely relaxed, and a hazy smile on her face... The massage had an almost intoxicating effect on her, and she was soon lulled into a slumber-like state. Victor, however, was not so relaxed...

Each stroke of his hands took an emotional toll on him, and every tense spot in her back left its mark on his heart. It brought to mind a haunting picture of all of the nights she spent alone… all of the anxiety she suffered…. It perfectly complimented the tale of woe she just finished telling him…It was almost too much for him to bear…tears came to his eyes yet again, but he blinked them away quickly and continued his massaging. After he had completely loosened all of her back muscles, he gradually slowed his hands to a stop. He fixed her dress and buttoned it, smiling as her eyes fluttered open. She had regained her consciousness, although her speech was still sleepily slurred.

" Where'dyou learn t'do that…" She slurred, her eyes rolling up into her head again as she fought the oncoming sleep.

" I didn't." He absentmindedly begin rubbing her shoulders…bringing more gentle moans from Emily.

" I take it you're enjoying this." He said with a chuckle.

" Mmhmm." She was quickly losing all contact with reality.  
After a while though she was sitting up again, though her eyes were half-lidded, as were Victor's

Victor rested his cheek on Emily's back, and he heard her sigh in happiness. Emily was grateful that her long spell of depression had been avoided by Victor… and her long-needed healing process had begun…  
Victor and Emily sat in this position for a long time. They said nothing…they didn't have to When they became too tired to support themselves they laid down on the blanket. Allowing their arms to become totally entwined. They stared at each other, listening to the still quietness of the forest, occasionally hearing a wolf howl or a crow caw. Victor looked at Emily, and chuckled slightly.

" I think we should get some sleep." He said with a yawn.

" B-but I don't want to go to-" Her sentence was cut short by a yawn. "…Sleep."

" Oh I think you do." He chuckled again. He stood up and got a large canteen of water out of their bag. He walked over to the fire, pouring the canteen onto it so that the fire was doused, then as the flames died down to mere embers he began throwing soil on it and stomping on it to make sure that no sparks would be emitted. All of the light left now was that of the moon, a dim eeire glow that left Victor virtually blind. He groped around for a minute before he finally found Emily. His hand rested on her waist, and he felt her move slightly . She rolled over, and he saw her glass-like eyes shine in the moonlight as she opened them slowly. She said nothing, but pulled back the blanket and held out her arms to him. He laid down next to her and she covered them both up. He cuddled up next to her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stared at him with sleepy eyes, and he pressed his lips to hers in an innocent, loving kiss. He was once again surprised at himself… he had never so comfortable around someone before, let alone a female… when he was around Emily, all of his fear and doubt died away. He was never afraid to kiss her, or to hold her, or to just generally display his love for her. His thoughts ended as he pulled his lips away from Emily's, she looked at him again and spoke.

" you know, when the party's over…when all is said and done… there's no where else I'd rather be then right here with you." She said groggily.

" The feeling is completely mutual…" He smiled.

" can we stay like this…forever?"

" Forever and ever… Just remember… if there's ever a time where you just need to cry… or to talk about something that's got you down… I'm here, I'll make it all better… I love you Emily, and nothing you say or do is ever going to change that." She said nothing, but pulled him into another kiss. It still held the innocence and naivety that all of their physical contact held… but it held more love and passion than any other worldly gesture… They pulled apart and gently rubbed their noses together one last time before both of them drifted into the jaws of sleep. The last thing Victor was aware of before he fell asleep was Emily's hand wrapped around his index finger.  
The sun had not yet risen, but Victor was wide awake. Although he felt the chilly morning air when he stretched, under the blanket it was warm and cozy. Emily lay next to him, facing away from him and curled up into a ball. Somehow she sensed the absence of Victor's arms, and she started to shiver. He smiled, and laid back down next to her. Once he wrapped his arms back around her, her shivers ceased and she fell back into a sound sleep. She rolled over, and mumbled in her sleep, her hand subconsciously pawing at Victor's chest. She snuggled closer to him and he kissed her forehead, and sighing contently, he fell back to sleep.  
When Victor awoke again, the sun was still not up, but it was a bit brighter outside, and this time Emily was gone. He sat up quickly and turned in all directions, and still no sign of his wife.

" Emily?" He called out, and he heard footsteps and crunching leaves.

" Finally you're up… come, change into your swim suit… I want to go swimming." She said as she ran towards him, dressed in her two piece bathing suit… She was as energetic as ever, but her voice was hoarse and raspy.  
" What happened to your voice Emily." Victor asked, concerned

" Oh… my voice." She chuckled. " I guess I did a bit too much yelling yesterday… I haven't raised my voice like that in a while." She shrugged her shoulders, and Victor laughed.

" Alright… I'll get changed and I'll meet you at the lake." He replied, and Emily ran off towards the lake.

When Victor arrived, Emily was sitting on a rock, staring at the small waterfall that poured into the lake.

" Aren't you getting in?" Victor draped his towel on a tree and came towards her.

" I was waiting for you." She said, hopping to and fro on a bunch of smaller rocks.

" I'd be careful if I were you, Emily."

" Oh why? Afraid the sea monster's going to get meAH!" She had slipped on a mossy rock and had fallen into the icy lake water, when she came up she inhaled sharply and began to cough and sputter.

" Oh my god!" she screamed, in a shrill voice, her hoarse voice not aiding the situation in any way. Victor was in hysterics.

" Told you…" He said laughing. The glare she sent him was about as icy as the water, and she walked ashore and grabbed a hold of Victor, pulling him and throwing him into the water. His reaction was similar to Emily's, and now it was her turn to taunt.

" Oh What? A little cold for you Victor?" She said sarcastically, and jumped back into the water, finding it less heart-starting the second time. She swam up to him

" Come with me." she said, and dove under the water, he followed soon after… struggling a bit to keep his lightweight body submerged.  
The lake was much deeper than he imagined, and underneath it was crystal clear and not at all hard to see in. He opened his eyes slowly and let them adjust to the water. It was the most remarkable feeling he had ever experienced… He was gliding through the water without a care in the world… water flowed in and out of his lungs, and he felt no need to breathe or panic. He gaped at Emily as he watched her swim… they way she moved her body carried a dolphin-like grace, and she never faltered or swerved in the least. They swam deeper and deeper, and the surface was now just a shimmering light. Victor swam close to Emily as she led him to an underwater cave. They swam inside and Emily came up first, fixing her hair and climbing onto the rock that led into the cave. Victor came up next, coughing slightly to expel the water from his lungs. He climbed up next to Emily, and they walked into the cave.

" Isn't this amazing.. I found it one day while I was swimming… I come back here every so often, and I always manage to find something… one time I found an oyster, and there was a pearl inside."

" You know… all of the years My father has been in the fish industry, and I've never found an oyster with a pearl inside." He said

" Really? Well, maybe we'll find one today

They walked even farther into the cave until they came to a fork in the tunnel. They decided to take the left route. They walked deep into the tunnel, basically groping their way through the tunnel until a faint light caught their eye. They walked up to the light, which brought them to the end of the tunnel… It led them to a large room, and It was the most spectacular thing either of them had seen. The cave room was very dark, and the wall of the cave was lined with thousands of brilliantly glowing objects. Emily's jaw dropped, and she gazed in awe at the sight.

" W…..w-what are they?" She asked.

" They're glow worms… they like dark caves like this… I've read about them, but his is the first time I've ever witnessed them… they're beautiful." he took the still gaping Emily under his arm.

" They are beautiful…wow" Her eyes gleamed with the strange glow. " What makes them glow like that?"

" A certain chemical in their bodies… like a firefly."

" Ohh…." She was fascinated.

" Come, we'd best not disturb them." He reluctantly led Emily away and they found themselves in another room. It had a small pond in the center, and the ceiling was littered with stalactites. Emily sat down by the pool and gently put her hand in it, swishing the water around with her hand, until she felt something nip her hand. She smiled slightly, and stuck her hand in the water.

" There you are… I was wondering where you'd gone to."

" Who on earth are you talking to?" Victor came up next to Emily and sat down.

" Look." She pulled her hand out of the water, and with it came a tiny turtle of no more than three inches. "My friend, I found him a while back almost being eaten by an alligator, and I put him here in this cave where he'd be safe, would you like to hold him?"

Victor nodded, had never held a turtle before, once almost, but his mother deemed it a filthy creature and had forbidden him to touch it. Emily placed the creature in his hands, and it turned around to face Victor. It seemed to smile at him a it stared at him. "he's a cute little fellow isn't he?" Victor said, still holding and smiling at the turtle. He gently touched its head with his finger, and the turtle withdrew slightly.

" Isn't he though?"

Victor nodded and placed the turtle back in the water and it swam around happily, Victor Looked at Emily, a new idea in his head after thinking about his mother.

" Emily?"

" Hmm?" She replied, still watching the turtle

" Would…would you like to go meet my parents today?" he said , tilting his head slightly, Emily's head picked up slightly, and she gave him a strange look. It was almost as if she was studying him " What? You don't want to?"

"Y-…..you are telling the truth right."

" Oh dear… you had to bring that up… I still can't believe I said that." Victor's voice trailed off, and he broke eye contact with Emily. Emily really did know what to say, but she wrapped her arms around him.

" It's okay… as long as you didn't mean it."

" Well, I said I would never marry you, and was that true?"

" No."

" Well then don't worry about it…Please… I'd prefer if you didn't mention it."

" Well then can we get back to the ball and socket? I want to meet them." Emily said, a new excitement bubbling up from her very soul.

" Sure, lets go." They dove back into the water and began the swim to the surface. Emily had to try her hardest to hold in her laughter. She was laughing at Victor, who's lightweight body allowed him to float to the surface without the slightest but of effort. When they finally did reach the surface, Emily and Victor began to laugh uncontrollably. They came up in a different spot than they had dove down in…and it didn't take long before both of them noticed that they were moving ever so slightly…until they picked up speed and being swept away in a current. The current got faster with every second, and Emily was screaming as she was being pulled under the water. Victor fought the current frantically as he searched for Emily. Her hoarse screams could be heard, followed by gurgles as she was once again swallowed by the river.

Victor dove under and saw her flailing about, he allowed his body to drift to hers, where he grabbed her waist and swiftly pulled her above the water, where she began coughing and sputtering. He flowed with the current until it slowed down a bit, then he used his free hand to grab on to an overhanging branch , and using every ounce of strength in his thin body, he flung Emily onto the bank, and himself soon after. Emily lay unconscious on the ground, but when Victor shook her, she sat up suddenly, clamping her hand to her mouth. She was coughing and retching violently, and Victor could only watch in horror, gently holding her hair as he was sure she was going to vomit, although unsure of how that was possible with nothing in your stomach. What happened then was completely unexpected. This coughing continued for about a minute or so, before a large minnow and a large amount of water was expelled from her mouth. The fish flopped on the ground and soon flopped its way back into the water. She stared in horror at the fish, then she looked at Victor, then back at the fish, and fell to the ground clutching her stomach. Victor was still rubbing her back, and he made her look at him.

" Are you… okay Emily?" He asked, his eyes wide. Her eyes were also wide, and she could only nod and look up at him. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper.

" I think I'm okay…. Victor?"

" Yes?"

" I just coughed up a fish." She said… shivering is disgust This statement made him withdraw from her, in a feeble attempt to hold in a laugh… but it didn't work. His body shook with laughter, hilarious laughter that dwarfed any of his previous laughing attacks. Emily sat up glaring at him, but her expression softened a little, finding it hard to be even the slightest bit mad at him. She tackled him while he was still laughing.

" Stop! You're so mean." She gently pounded his chest with her hands, and he was now laughing so hard that rivers of tears made their way down his cheeks. Unfortunately for Victor, not having to breathe made it very difficult to stop laughing. Tears continued to flow down his face, and Emily herself had even joined in the laughter.  
It took a good ten minutes for Victor to calm down. Emily moved up a little, and he looked at her without picking his head up. She wiped the tears off of his face with her thumbs.

" You….are SO mean." She said smiling. Victor also smiled at her.

" Oh come now, you have to admit it was funny."

" For you!" She giggled, pulled Victor to his feet, and they began the journey to their campsite to pack up their things. While they were walking, Victor took a hold of Emily's hand, and she gasped slightly, for she wasn't expecting it. She looked at him and showed him one of her heart-melting smiles. Back at the campsite, everything was as they had left it. Their blanket was untouched, and the pillow had gone unmoved. The fire had long since died, and now only the ashes remained. Their bag lay a few feet from the blanket, and Emily ran and got a large towel from it.

" We're almost dry, but just to be sure." She put the towel around both of them, and just when she was beginning to enjoy the warmth, Victor playfully stole it from her and tied it around himself like a cape, causing Emily to shiver. He began to walk away pompously, but Emily had another idea in mind. Instead of chasing him, she decided to just nonchalantly walk up behind him and tackle him to the ground. Victor laughed at this and struggled underneath her.

" Oh no… you're not getting away that easily." She untied the towel and tied it over her own shoulders, then began to tickle Victor's waist. He began to squirm and wriggle furiously (think of the spider scene ) up. She was intent on making him pay… She continued to tickle him until her hands became tired. At which time her tickling slowed down... But as Victor was squirming under her hands, his head jerked upwards and hit Emily's, their lips collided. Victor was shocked at first, as was Emily, and he put his elbows up to support his body. After that split second though, they both melted into the accidental kiss. Victor laid back down on the ground and brought. Emily with him. He wrapped his one arm around her skinny waist, and put the other arm on the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Emily was rendered senseless as the world dissolved around her.

Emily couldn't even begin to describe the security she felt in Victor's embrace. Her senses being lost further, her next move surprised the both of them. Emily opened her mouth a little wider and brushed her tongue against Victor's lips, innocently asking for entrance permission. Victor was shocked at first and unsure of how to react, but he, being a fast learner, opened his mouth to reciprocate Emily's passion with equal, if not stronger force. Victor reached up and covered the hole in her face, so that their battle of passion might remain hidden from the prying eyes of the forest. Victor lay paralyzed as he kissed Emily, so terrified that he was going to make a wrong move… but that feeling eventually faded and died, as the feelings of excitement and euphoria coursed through their bodies.

After some time, they couldn't tell how much time had passed… they very slowly pulled away from each other… immediately missing the warmth of the other's lips. The world came back to them… and they stared deep into each other's eyes, satisfied with their passions, and still blissfully abstinent, they began to experience that same otherworldly oneness that had felt on the dance floor the other night.  
Some time later… they were all dressed and ready to return home… but t hey were still reluctant to leave the forest… Victor crawled back over to the blanket and laid back down on it. He laid on his stomach, and Emily soon followed, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying the whole top half of her body on top of him. The sun was now at its peak in the sky, and it shone through the trees into the clearing. Emily and Victor laid on the blanket, the hot sun warming every inch of their blue-tinted bodies, as well as their already elated spirits. Emily's smile was about as wide as the sky itself, the yearning and despair were gone, and now they were replaced by a deep and unfathomable mirth. Victor's skin was warm on her cheek, and it didn't take long for them to fall into a light sleep. Victor awoke to Emily twitching. Her arms shook underneath his stomach and small whimpers were emitted from her mouth. Victor rolled over and shook her gently, now realizing that she had become lost in a nightmare.

" Emily… Emily." He called her name and shook her shoulders, increasing in violence until he finally got her to wake. She awoke with a jolt and a sharp intake of air.

" There you are… you were having a nightmare."

" Was I?" She asked, still obviously half asleep.

" Yes…and a right gruesome one at that." Her response was only a moan as she felt Victor roll back over, and assume the position he had been in only moments ago. Just as his eyes closed, Emily called his name.

" Victor?" She said softly.

"Mmm?"

" Trees can't…eat people can they?"

" No Love...They can't." He resisted the urge to giggle as he could see that she was completely serious.

" You know…we should probably get up if were going to see your parents today."

" That…or we could see them tomorrow and spend today lying here in the sun like a bunch of lazy kittens."

" I wouldn't mind that…."

" Nor would I" Victor felt Emily's eyelashes on his back, and he smiled inwardly. He rolled onto his side and pulled Emily with him… he stared at her, and without knowing, words escaped from his lips.

" My god you're beautiful…"

" Victor… stop." She smiled coyly as her cheeks flushed a deep blue.

" So what now? Are you telling me to lie?"

" Oh Victor." She buried her face in his chest to avoid him seeing her deep blue cheeks. He looked up at the sky, then he noticed something about one of the trees. He looked at it, and noticed that instead of having barely any leaves on it… It was full to bursting with many apples.

" How come there are apples growing on that tree?" He asked, dumbfounded. Emily only giggled.

" Well…. That would be because it is in fact…an APPLE tree." She laughed.

" That's not what I mean… I mean wouldn't they die?"

" No… we dead people have to get food from somewhere…. I'm not exactly sure how it works… There's a whole book on these kinds of things… similar to the holy bible.. But a dead version…and it's a lot less religious… but the things we grow for food stay alive down here…. It's not like the soil is infertile… so crops have no trouble growing down here."

" now THAT is confusing… I don't think I'll ever figure this place out completely… Oh well…" Victor got off of the blanket and walked over to the tree. The trunk was extremely thick and knotted, perfect for climbing. Victor Put his foot on one of the knots and began climbing the tree. Emily watched in amusement as he sat on one of the branches and waved at her.

" Why don't you come up here!" he called. She shook her head.

" No thanks, I'm not that fond of climbing trees… I fell out of one once."

" You fall out one time and then you're afraid to climb up again? Now Emily dear that doesn't sound a thing like you."

" Nor is it like you to be climbing trees… I would think you'd be the one to be scared."

" I've been doing it since I was little… when I was away from my parents of course… I'd climb a tree and maybe do a few sketches at school…. Come on… come up here with me." She sat up and was about to get up, but something pulled her back. It was the memory of the day she fell out of the tree and broke her arm.

" No." She pulled her knees up to her chest and clasped her arms around them

" Please?" when she shook her head again, he climbed down from the tree and walked towards her.

" What's the big deal with trees, why can't we stay here on the ground…"

" I don't know… there's just something about being on a high tree branch…" She looked at him strangely… He eventually got her up off the blanket and brought her to the base of the tree.

" Go on, start climbing… I'll be right behind you." She put her foot on the knot and began shakily climbing up the tree… Once she was up there… she sat on the branch and gripped it as hard as she could. Victor adroitly climbed over her so she wouldn't have to move. He was half-amused as he watched her grip the branch and stare helplessly at the ground…looking like the fabled cat that got stuck in the tree.

" W-were s-so h-high up." She shivered, gripping the tree even tighter. Victor put his arm around her, and playfully shook her. She screamed and clung to his shirt, balling her fists up so tightly that her left thumb broke off from her hand and fell to the ground below (yes the skeleton one)

" AHH! DON"T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" She yelped. Victor held her tighter and steadied her on the branch, chuckling slightly.

" Oh come now…Would I ever let you go?"

" I hope not…. Oh can't we just go back down to the nice safe ground?"

" Why? It's nice up here, away from the ground." He noticed her thumbless hand was still attached to his shirt… he gently grabbed a hold of it and kissed her knuckles… her fingers relaxed.

"come now… I'll fall myself before I ever let you go." This seemed to calm Emily, and she moved closer to him, putting one arm around his shoulders and resting her other hand on his knee. She soon came to realize that sitting up here with Victor wasn't as frightening as she made it out to be. He sensed that se felt more comfortable now, and leaned his back against the tree trunk, bringing on of his legs up to rest on the branch and the other was left dangling freely. He pulled Emily into his lap and she was now completely relaxed. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Victor reached out and plucked a ripe red apple from the nearest branch. He bit into its tender flesh, was relieved that he didn't find a worm inside or anything rotten. He brought his arm around and put the apple up to Emily's mouth, she took a bite out of it next to where Victor had.

" those are good… I'll bet Mrs. Plum could make a pie out of them."

" we should bring some back for her…. Apple pie is my favorite." Victor said.

" Mine too!" Emily shouted happily. "Let's pick some…. This could be our excuse for why they haven't seen us all day."

" Well then how will we explain our bag and blankets?" Victor took another bite out of the apple

" Simple… well put them in first, then climb back down the balcony and walk in the front door."

" Beautiful, and the most clever girl I've ever seen… will you ever cease to amaze me?" Emily's cheeks turned blue again and she covered them with her hands.

" Victor!" she groaned bashfully. She kissed his cheek softly and took another bite out of his apple, and he noticed how she only chewed on the right side of her mouth. He put his hand up to her face and traced the hole in her cheek.

" Doesn't that bother you?"

" No… not really… I've gotten used to it." Out of curiosity, he stuck his finger in the hole and made a loop with his finger. Emily smiled, rolled her eyes and bit his finger. Keeping it clenched within her teeth, he laughed and tried to disengage his finger, but she wouldn't let it go.  
" Oh come now…Let go." He pleaded, and she opened her mouth and he pulled his finger out

" That's what you get for sticking your fingers in peoples' mouths." She said with a sly smile.

" Well forgive me for being curious."

"you know what they say… curiosity killed the-" He stuffed the apple in her mouth to stop her from finished the all too cliché saying.

" Please don't finish that!" She giggled and mumbled something before taking the apple from her mouth

"why?" Victor stuck the apple back in her mouth, and she giggled.

" You know… we should probably be heading back now… Mrs. Plum might start to worry." Victor said… looking at the sun, which had reached its noontime position in the sky. Emily took the apple out of her mouth again.

" I suppose… But I just got used to being up here…. How do you expect me to get down?"

" That'll be easy… I'll go first." Victor began climbing down the branches, instructing Emily as she began her descent. Victor had to jump from about eight feet to reach the ground below. He looked up and found Emily clinging to the branch.

" I can't jump that!" she shouted.

" Oh come now… I've seen you do scarier things than jump… here… I'll catch you." Victor held out his arms, and Emily reluctantly jumped from the branch, only to be caught safely by Victor. "see? Now was that bad?" She shook her head and he put her down. Emily walked over to the blanket and picked up the pillow. She hid it behind her back and walked over to Victor when he was bent over the bag and socked him in the side of the head with it. He fell over onto his side and looked up at Emily, who was sniggering behind the pillow. He pulled her into his arms and she squeaked, she dropped the pillow and put her arms loosely around him.

" Now was that necessary?" He asked. When she giggled and shook her head he chuckled and kissed her forehead. His cheeks were a dark shade of blue as they reluctantly broke apart and began once again to clean up their campsite. When they finished gathering their things they put them up against the tree trunk and Victor climbed back up the tree. Emily looked up at him, and he stood up in the branch.

" let's put your agility to the test Emily." She still stared at him, and he plucked an apple from the tree, and he threw it down to her. She caught it barely, and barely had time to put it down before another one was hurled at her.

" Alright…come at me with all you've got." He smiled, and began to throw apples down from the tree as fast as he could pick them. The pile of apples grew and grew as Emily caught every single one he threw, until she turned to look at the pile of apples. In that split second that her head was turned, an apple smacked her in the side of the face with a hollow "thump!" sending her eyeball flying out of its socket. In an instant Victor got down from the tree and was at her side.

" Oh dear... Emily! Are you alrght?" He asked, the same timid, jumpy Victor was resurfacing… "oh dear…" He kept muttering to herself. She laughed and rubbed her cheek.

" Victor.. Victor darling it's okay… I'm fine." She said, trying to calm him down, " Now help me find my eyeball." She giggled, and he obediently began searching around the campsite for the missing eye. When he finally found it, it was nestled safely in a pile of dead leaves. He fished it out and walked back to Emily, and handing it to her she popped it back into the empty socket. She took his hand and took the apples and carried them in her dress. Victor gathered their things and they walked out of the woods and began to walk back to the ball and socket. It was a weird change for both of them, they were so used to the solitude of the forest that being back in civilization threw them both for a loop. Emily clung to Victor as they moved through the streets, attracting smiles and murmurs wherever they went. When they finally got to the ball and socket… Emily sighed.

" It's nice to be home again." She laid her head on Victor's shoulder, being careful not to spill the apples she still held. Victor kissed her cheek before climbing up to the balcony to their room. He checked to see that no one was in their room, and seeing that it was empty, he opened the door and put their bag down. He head footsteps coming up the stairs and ran out the door and back down to Emily, but he stumbled a bit on the descent and fell on his backside. Emily snorted a giggle and he stood up, blushing a little. He walked over to her and took her arm and they walked in the main doors, where Bonejangles greeted them, startling Emily so badly that she dropped all the apples she was carrying.

" Well as I live and breathe if it isn't Emily and Victor!"

" BJ… you don't live… and you don't breathe." Emily said curtly, annoyed that her apples had been dropped

" Well then that just makes it all the more interesting.. Where the heck have you two been all day… ugh that woman has been badgerin' me all day askin' for you two."

" Oh dear… she's not worried is she?" Victor asked, Emily had dropped down to pick up the apples.

" Nah she aint worried, just wanted to know where you were is all." He said. " hey Plum! Look who's finally checkin in!" he shouted.

" I'm not deaf Bonejangles… you don't have to shou- well! Look who it is… and just where have you two been all day?" She asked.

" We've been all over town… and we picked some apples for you." Emily had finished picking them all up.

" Well wasn't that sweet of you! I've been looking to bake something for a while now so that we have something around for you two to snack on… look at that, they go all over the place and they still think of their old auntie Plum…" She walked up to Emily and Victor and kissed them both on the cheek, although they both had to bend down so she could do so. She took the apples from Emily and walked into the kitchen with them. As soon as she was gone Bonejangles shook his head.

" She's crazy I tell ya….." He went back to playing riffs on his saxophone. Emily and Victor walked upstairs to their bedroom and Emily ran to their bed and flopped face first on it, then rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes. Victor laid sideways on it and rested his head on Emily's stomach. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.

" That was fun, but it is nice to be on our own bed again." She said, still stroking his hair with her fingers.

" Yes…" The stroking if his hair was making him drowsy.

" Well… what do you propose we do now?" She stopped stroking his hair and sat up, he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

" I don't know…I chose the library… it's your turn to drag me somewhere." He chuckled slightly. She smiled.

" I haven't a clue… to tell you the truth I could stay here all day… but I have a feeling Bonejangles would be on our case about it/"

" I have a feeling you're right." Victor closed his eyes once more and His hearing heightened… and he could hear mrs. Plum calling them.

" She's calling us."

" I know… She's been at it for about a minute now… I just don't necessarily want to move right now." Emily pulled herself off the bed and called down to Mrs. Plum.

" Yes?"

" Come down here… the both of you." They looked at each other and sighed heavily, afterwards giving a light chortle as they trudged down the stairs to see what task Mrs. Plum had for them… and tomorrow… Emily would go to meet the Van Dorts… an event that filled her with both excitement… and the most extreme nervousness…

A/N: Well… that was chapter four... Pure, unbridled 100 mushy, sappy, Emily/victor FL00F…..lol fluff is good stuff… but if any of you think I may have overdone it… PLEASE say so in a review… I love this chapter… but I would also appreciate your feedback… in the next chapter…and this is actually chapter five… Emily meets victor's parents….what will be in store for these two? Well you'll just hafta wait and see … until then… griffin-queen out!


	7. Meeting the parents

A/N" hey all.. Griffin queen's back again with chapter five…. Lol I'm sorry it took forever… but I'm sure you all wanna get to reading, so join me at the end for my authors note! 

Chapter five.

Emily and Victor had become exhausted from Mrs. Plum's tasks. She had them peeling apples, rolling pie crusts, running down into the basement for extra flour and sugar (Victor had fallen a couple of times) and running all over the pub doing other chores. When she was finally done with them… they dragged themselves up the stairs and sat in the den. Victor laid on the couch and put a pillow over his head head and groaned.

" Is she…always like that?" He asked.

" When she's baking….yes." Emily walked over to the couch and laid down on her back in Victor's lap. He took the pillow off of his face and put it behind his head. Wrapping his arms around Emily's waist and pressing her hands lightly to her abdomen… they lay on the couch together, both too tired to move. Emily began absentmindedly playing with Victor's fingers. He chuckled slightly and closed his eyes as she rolled onto her side and did the same. Once again, her hand wrapped around his index finger. He was wondering to himself why she didn't just hold his whole hand, but he dare not ask. He was thinking to himself how adorable it was, as he looked at her hand around his finger… almost the way an infant grabs the outstretched finger of it's mother or father. Emily was similar to an infant in a lot of ways. She was a bit on the needy side, and with one look he could tell anything….he could tell if she was in need of comfort or love… and to be honest… that was what Victor preferred… someone he could always keep close to him… it made him feel needed, and like he had a purpose in life. Victor's heart swelled with love as he looked down at Emily, who was too tired to move. Her eyes fluttered open and she tilted her head up to meet Victor's eyes. She smiled, and Victor turned to a blob… she seemed to be good at making him liquefy.

" the next time we bring back any sort of fruit you can bake into a pie….drop it off….and run…. It was only a couple of pies and I'm exhausted… I can't believe it…" She said, stretching and shifting slightly in his arms.

" It is rather strange…. Ugh… I don't think I've ever worked that hard…."

" I have….. The LAST time she cleaned the whole place… " Victor laughed at her.

" I can't imagine… oh dear I don't think I'd be able to last."

" I don't know how I did… but I sure slept well that night."

" I slept well last night." Victor said, remembering how nice it was to be cuddled up next to Emily, with only the isolation of the forest surrounding them.

" So did I." Emily shifted in Victor's arms like a child wrapped up in her security blanket. Their little tender moment was soon interrupted my Mrs. Plum's voice.

" Victor? Victor can ya come down here for a second?" Victor groaned audibly and rolled his eyes. Emily giggled and sat up to he could get off the couch. He did so and walked grudgingly out the door.

" Have fun!" Emily sing-songed. He shot her a playful death glare and walked down the stairs.

" yes Mrs. Plum?" He called out, but when he received no answer, he walked the rest of the way down the stairs.  
" Victor I need you to go back down to the basement and fetch me a new keg of ale…these pub rats are bleedin' me dry." Victor opened the door down to the basement and walked down into it's dank depths. His pupils took a short time to dilate and adjust to the dim light, and he stumbled over a box as he made his way to the wine cellar. Above him, he could hear dainty feet striding across the creaky hardwood floor. They made a sort of _"Creak, Click Creak click."_ sound, and it sounded like a steady walking pace. He identified those feet as Emily's by her skeletal foot making the sharp clicking noise. He opened the door to the wine cellar and shivered at the low temperature. He saw many many racks filled with bottles of fine wine, bottles of all types of assorted liquor, and kegs of beer and the much milder ale. He could smell the age in the basement…mixed with musty wet earth…  
He walked over to an ale-filled keg and hoisted it up over his shoulder, almost toppling backwards from the weight. He figured it would be easier to work of he took his jacket off, so he did and put on another keg. He hoisted the keg over his shoulder again and began the climb up the stairs, grunting with each stair, as the keg weighed almost as much as he did…

" Thank you so much Victor… I would have never gotten that up by myself." Mrs. Plum held the door open for him

" I…." He grunted from the weight. " I honestly don't know How I did either… this weighs a ton!" He deposited the keg in the kitchen and arched his back, hearing it snap in it least four places. He then walked back down the stairs to the basement to retrieve his jacket. He slipped his jacket back on , and went to climb up the stairs for the final time… when something caught his eye. It was a curtain of some sort. It was covered by cobwebs and looked as if it was intended to blend in with the wall. Victor thought it was best to leave it alone, but his curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to the curtain. Pulling it aside, he stepped in and was surrounded by total darkness. He was so unnerved that he yelped and jumped with the cord attached to the light bumped against his nose. He yanked the cord and gasped again when the light flooded the room.

He was standing in a small alcove, big enough to fit maybe five or less people. It had a small bench on one wall…The walls were covered with shelves, and the shelves were jam-packed with all sorts of knick-knacks and other items. They were all in good condition, indicating that someone kept regular maintenance… Victor was in awe at the many items perched upon the shelves. He walked closer to one of the shelves, and picked up a withered book. He carefully opened its moth eaten cover to find that the pages inside were not so tattered. His eyes widened at the words within the book, they appeared to be poems, and they were written in the most beautiful calligraphy he had ever seen. He stopped at one poem and began to read.

_Ageless death… I lie here in wait_

_Alone…._

_I wait for the one who will bring me out of the shadows.  
Slowly, steadily…my spirit withers on the vine Like the roses set in my bridal bouquet.  
My image decays… a shadow of what it once was_

_Alone…._

_Ageless death….that is my fate_

It was a small poem… but it moved Victor… at this point he already had an inkling… but the letters "E.J.H" Signed at the bottom told him that this was Emily's writing. He closed the book and put in back on the shelf, and jumped out of his skin when a voice sounded form behind him.

" I see you've found my treasure trove." Emily's voice was low, and she sounded neither happy nor upset. Victor did not turn around, he didn't want to know if she was angry with him for intruding.

" Emily…. I-I'm s-sorry… I didn't know these were your things until I saw your signature at the bottom of the book… I'm sorry I shouldn't have been snooping around."

" Victor… it's alright… I was going to show it to you sooner or later… but I see you've done my job for me. She chuckled, and Looked curiously at Victor. "why aren't you turning around?… I'm not angry darling." He turned around to face her, and found her smirking slightly.

" H-how did you know that that's why I wasn't turning around?"

" I know you." She giggled. "now… which book did you pick up?"

" This one." He held up the book, and Emily took it gently from him, staring down at it's cover… her expression melting away and her eyes seeming to travel back in time to the prime of this book.

" This….was my mother's journal. She gave it to me when I was about fifteen… it wasn't until about a year ago that I started writing my poems in it…"

" You write beautifully… why didn't you ever tell me you could write?"

" well for one… you never asked… and… Look through that book Victor, if you'll care to notice… not one of the poems in this book is pleasant in any way."

" Ahh… I see…" Victor began flipping through the book some more until he found the end of her writings, and flipped back a page to find the last thing she had entered…and it was dated to about five days ago.

"You wrote this one recently….the day you returned here wasn't it?" She glanced at the book and nodded, a certain disdain in her voice.

"Yes… it's the only entry in that book that isn't a poem." He looked at her.

" Looks an awful lot like a poem to me." She gently took the book form him."

" You didn't read it then… the verses keep repeating…. It's a song." She reread her lyrics, a pained look on her face.  
"Sing for me... I do so love hearing you sing." He knew the song was sad, but he loved hearing her voice.

" But it's such a sad song….and… when have you ever heard me sing… I don't quite remember ever singing in front of you."

"w-well It was a f-few nights ago, before our reception… you were showering and I had to go bring your clothes down to Mrs. Plum…and y-you were singing and I s-sort of stopped to…listen" Emily blushed, as did Victor.

"You heard that?" She felt awkward about being caught singing in the shower.

"y-yes…." Emily blushed. " So are you going to sing this for me?"

"Oh I'd rather not." Victor closed the book then, smiling lightly.  
"Alright then, that's fine."

"You're not too disappointed with me?"

"Disappointed that I didn't get to see you cry? I think not."

"Who says singing it would make me cry?"

"Looking at these lyrics of yours… I just took a guess…"

"Yes…and you were probably right." He chuckled.

"So anyway…"He said while setting the book back in its proper place. "How on earth did you get all these things down here? Surely you didn't take them with you when you-" he stopped.. "…on…that… night."

" I went up and collected them… I caused a community-wide fiasco because they couldn't figure out who had pilfered my belongings…. But I couldn't leave them behind… they've been all I had for so very long…" She took another book from the chest and handed it to Victor.

" That's a photo album…." She walked over and stood behind him as he opened the page. The first few picture showed a man and a women, smiling widely and waving into the camera.

" Those are my mother and my father." She pointed to each and explained everything about the picnic they had been on that day. They flipped through the book, she showed him pictures of her house and where she used to live, and as they reached the last page… Emily suddenly jerked her head away.

" What's wrong?"

" N-nothing…nothing… go ahead and look if you will." He turned the page, and almost dropped the book because of what he saw. It was a picture of Emily…the living Emily. She was no younger than sixteen, her curvy body accented perfectly in a pastel purple dress. Her dark, chestnut brown hair fell in bouncy curls over her shoulders, reaching her mid back. No flesh was missing from her body, and her skin was colored a milky fleshy color. She was smiling in the picture, her hands clasped neatly in front of her…and as one could expect, she looked like a goddess, yet even so, her beauty did not faze victor as much as it did now. He looked at the other form of his wife, who's head was turned away in shame. He closed the book…and hearing it's cover close, Emily's head lifted slightly.

" Did you see it?" Her tone was extremely flat.

" I did… but you know…. You're more beautiful now than you ever were." He wasn't trying to flatter her, he was being utterly serious… but something snapped inside of Emily, and she couldn't see that.

" Oh… stop… Just STOP!" she hissed, moving away from him, and purposely shoving him slightly in the process. "that's just a lie… she snapped. " Look at me." She glared at the picture . " I was beautiful…and now look at me… I'm nothing but a shadow….."She threw the book to the ground. Victor walked up to Emily and pulled her into his arms… Her head hung dangerously low, her blue hair hiding her face. Victor took his finger and put it under her chin, and pushed it upwards to make her look at him. Her eyes were filled with that same teary, forlorn confusion they held last night. Hoping to change this, he brought his face close to hers and kissed her…As the effect, Emily's entire body relaxed, her hands went around his neck…and for a minute or two, neither of them moved… but when Victor deepened the kiss their bodies began to gently sway back and forth, in a rhythmic motion that neither of them as aware of. When he finally broke the kiss he gently guided her head to his shoulder, still caught in the rhythmic swaying. He heard her sigh quietly, a sad look still caressed her features

" now… are you going to show me more of this wonderful collection of yours?"

" Yes… pick a wall and I'll show you everything… but first…" She blushed "Please….. Kiss me again…." He nodded and gently pressed his lips to hers again. She smiled into the kiss… and they wished how they could stay like this forever… lost in each others kiss. Emily pulled away slowly, her lips lingering on Victor's for an extra second before he pulled her into another hug. .. As he held her, he couldn't help but let his mind wonder….why did Emily still continue to have these outbursts?… it was almost as if something was still bothering her…It was as if she could never avoid the hobgoblin of her past.(hobgoblin…love that word xD) He shrugged it off and rested his cheek on top of her head.

Emily smiled in Victor's arms, and her eyes traveled around the room, they widened and she smiled. She gently pulled herself out of Victor's arms and moved over to the shelf on the back wall. She pulled a thin black case off the shelves. It a couple of inches longer than Emily's hand in length, but when she opened it, Victor's jaw dropped. Inside the case was a wooden flute… carved of the most beautiful mahogany

" This is among my most favorite possessions…. My father gave it to me…here." She began to take it out of the case.

" Emily… don't trust me with something so precious…" He attempted to push it back into her hands, but she seemed to want him to hold it. She placed it in his hands and closed her fingers around it, as she had done with his wedding ring….

" I trust you with anything… just look at it… isn't it beautiful?" She said, gazing in awe at the tiny instrument. Victor had to admit it was beautiful…. An ivy vine was etched into the side of the flute…and instead of regular circular keys, there were small roses. Victor felt a sense of pride knowing that Emily trusted him with such a delicate object, and he turned it over in his hands once more before handing it back to her. She put it back in the case and set it on the shelf.

" I have another flute in here somewhere that I play every now and again…… my father always loved to hear me play…sometimes my mother and would play duets…she'd be on the piano and I'd be on the flute… oh it was great fun… I do so miss it."

" Well… you can play the flute…and I can play the piano…. I…will… play with you if you want." Victor said shyly. Emily looked at him, and her eyes lit up, that kind of ethereal glow that made Victor warm and happy from the inside out.

" What a fantastic idea!…we can do it after I show you some more of my things!" The excitement was bubbling up from her soul again. She spun around in a complete turn before finally coming to the shelf on the east side of the wall. She took a small, shoe sized box off of the shelf.

" Remember how I told you that my father sent some things back from the war? These are some of them." She opened the box and took out a whole stack of parchment paper. Setting it aside, she peered into the box, looking for ideal conversation pieces. Something seemed to catch her eye. She took out a black case and set the box down on the floor. She moved closer to Victor and opened the case slowly. She took out a half-dollar sized pendant attached to a long gold chain. She wrapped the chain around her hand and held the pendant. Turning around so her back rested on Victor's torso, he looked over her shoulder as she clicked open the front of the pendant to reveal a golden compass. The detail was beautiful, and in the middle of the compass rose was a spinning dial. One half was an amber yellow and had the sun and clouds inscribed on it, and the bottom half was a deep blue and bore a picture of the moon and stars. She closed the compass and turned around to face Victor and dropped the chain over his head, so that the pendant lay nicely on his chest. Emily thought to herself how handsome he looked with the pendant around his neck…Victor looked at her with a confused face, and she smiled.

" I want you to keep this with you…. My father gave this to me before he left for the war… he always told me that if ever I needed to find him… this compass would show me the way…. I never understood what he meant… to tell you the truth I still don't…" Victor looked at her and put his two hands on the compass and slowly began to remove it.

" Emily I can't take this from you… it means too much to you… god forbid I lose it…or damage it." Emily put her hands over Victor's.

" I wouldn't trust it to anyone else but you…if ever I'm not with you, remember me when you wear this necklace. Keep it always, and don't give it to another soul as long as you exist in this afterlife…for you carry around you neck… my most prized possession." Emily brought Victor's hands, still clasped in her own, up to her cheek, and looked up at him with a solemn face. Victor smiled and wrapped his arms around her, filled with pride and love. ( I… am SUCH a cornball… gawd I write too much sap xD… but ya know what? I like it hahaha)

" I promise." He tucked the pendant safely away inside his shirt. Emily happily bounced over to the back wall and began showing him some of the other things she had… She eventually came back to the stack of parchment paper she had taken out of the box. She picked it up carefully.

"These are the letters my father sent me… I would always wait for them… every day I would get home from school and go directly to the mailbox." She thumbed through them, and Victor grabbed her hand as she began to read one. "Dear Emily..." She read. " we're marching through a town today… you would love it, I'm positive you would. There are flowers every which way you turn…and the people are all so nice….although I fear it wont be like this for too much longer. By the time you read this letter, Emily, I am already in battle… pray for me my darling. Say hello to mother for me, and take care of things around the house. Now Emily…. Please understand that in the peak of war…there may be instances in which I may not be able to come back to you." Victor could hear Emily's voice begin to weaken. "Should that happen, take good care of you and your mother… but above all know this….Y-" Emily swallowed hard "You are my pride and joy. And I couldn't be prouder to have you as my daughter." Emily sobbed. "Know that I'll always love you…and I'll always be watching over you…even if you can't see me. Love….Daddy." Emily shut her eyes and tilted her head back, not surprised to feel it hit Victor's chest. Her body shook. The next few minutes were very slow and somber… but eventually They were walking around the room again, Emily showing off her belongings…each one of them a marvel and a story in its own way. A good hour was spent in Emily's alcove….until they decided to go up and play some music.

" let's go." Victor said, and Emily went rooting around on the top shelf, and she took another black case off the shelf, and along with it an old red folder. She led him up the stairs and into the lounge of the pub. They got to the top of the stairs, and Emily ran into the kitchen. Victor took a seat at the piano and flipped the lid open. Emily came out with a glass of water. She set it down on a small table and opened the flute case. Victor was astonished at how shiny it was, he figured that she polished it nearly every day to keep it in such fine condition. She began piecing the instrument together, taking the utmost care in making sure that it was perfect. After she was done she stood over Victor, who was seated at the piano. She sat next to him and opened the folder. Just as they were about to begin, a slight scratching was heard at the door. Both of them dismissed it at first, but when it got louder they opened the door to reveal a raven. The raven was lean and well built, and a deep, healthy _"craw- craw!"_ sounded from its throat as it flew up to Emily and perched on her shoulder. She moved the bird to her finger, and it ruffled its feathers.

" Well hello there Archimedes… I haven't seen you in a while, it's been almost a year hasn't it? You've gotten so big." She giggled. The raven cawed happily and stuck up its left foot, revealing a letter tied to it, along with a small grey leather bag.. Emily gently untied the letter and bag from Archimedes' leg, and Victor walked up to her, filled with curiosity. She unrolled the letter and revealed the black ink, no doubt written with a shaky hand.

_Emily and Victor_

_Word got out that you are going to be making another trip upstairs… so I figured that these would be of use to you… this will save you a lot of walking to my house. Although don't hesitate to come visit, my door is always open._

_Warmest regards,  
Elder Gutknecht_

_P.S- if you're wondering how exactly the word got out…let's just say a little birdie told me…._

Emily pictured him saying that in her head and it made her chuckle. She opened the bag, inside it were two more silver rings, both with an eerie aura about them. They were identical to the one they had given Victoria. They already knew what they were for. She handed one to Victor, and they both put them on their right ring fingers. Archimedes cawed a farewell and took off from Emily's shoulder and flew out the door. Victor put his hands on Emily's waist and she spun around to face him.

" We have got to watch what we say around the birds." Emily giggled and kissed him sweetly, although it didn't last long as Bonejangles walked into the room and they pulled apart. He saw this scene and said nothing, only spun his skull around and walked out of the room….backwards.

"Bonejangles? What are you doing? I thought you were goin' to check on Emily and Victor…" Mrs. Plum said with a raised brow.

" I was… but they're right out there and they were gettin' all smoochy so I decided it'd be best if I didn't hang around too long ya know?" His skull spun back around. Mrs. Plum chuckled and nodded in agreement and went back to her cooking.  
Victor still held Emily close to him, both of them blushed a light shade of blue, and Emily had a strange look on her face.

" How many times do you think they're going to walk in on us?"

" well we are kind of out in the open…. And come now…It's not like it was a once in a blue moon thing." He smiled and kissed her again. She smiled and giggled.

" I guess not…." She smiled. The two kept in this position for a moment before breaking apart. Victor looked at the clock.

" So… it's about three o clock… if we go up now my parents should be in…." Emily remained silent "w-…whats wrong?"

" No… it's nothing… I'm just a bit nervous is all…. I want to make a good impression…. But they might not like me…. looking like a half decayed zombie and all…"

Emily I'll not have any more of that rubbish… You are most certainly not a zombie…my parents will love you, I promise… and even if they don't… I still will" He said. This seemed to help a bit, and Emily smiled.

" Let's go then… I'll just be a minute to let Bonejangles know where we're going." With that she ran into the kitchen, and within minutes she ran back out and was at Victor's side. He took her arm and they walked out.

" Oh William! Why did we ever agree to let our boy go?" Nell Van Dort Sobbed rather obnoxiously as she paced around the study in their lavishly decorated house. William tried to keep up with her pacing.

" I don't know why you're all a flutter about this Nellie… Victor's fine now that he's passed on… as a matter of fact I think it'll do him some good… from what I hear it's a lot of fun down there.. It might strengthen his nerves a bit…and I'm sure the girl he found is wonderful…. Nothing's going to be different… the only thing different about him'll be the color of his skin" He comforted his wife, but she slapped his hand away with her fan, still sobbing. This continued for a little while until the large brass doorbell tolled throughout the house.

" Now who could that be at this hour?" William walked over to the door and opened it, and who he saw standing there made him jump. He took his glasses off his nose and cleaned them, and then put them back on. His jaw dropped and he finally found the words to speak.

" Victor." Was all he could say.

" Hello father…" Victor waved

" Victor!"

" Yes…. It's me." Victor raised a brow.

" VICTOR!" WIlliam shouted, and caught his son up in a hug. Victor smiled and hugged his father back.

" Nellie! NELL COME HERE!" he shouted as loud as he could. Nell walked in from the study.

" William quiet your bellowin I can here you all the way from in-." Her jaw also reached an all-time low...

" MY BABY!" she cried, running…or more or less waddling over to her sun and scooping him up…or down in victor's case… in her arms… mussing his hair and showering his face with sloppy kisses. " Victor you're here…and you haven't changed a bit." She was blind to the fact that his skin was blue.

" No mother… I haven't" He said through a chuckle, immensely embarassed.

" Oh… Oh victor how is everything? Are they feeding you? Are there any mean bullies beating you up? Do you change your underwear every day?" She was getting ahead of herself. Outside the door, Emily was in tears trying to keep from laughing.. But she had to regain composure fast before he introduced her.

" Yes of course they're feeding me… no there are no bullies and mother… I'm nineteen years old…please…. I'm not five anymore." Nell stepped away from her son

" My baby…. Oh my Victor." Nell turned around and cried into her handkercheif… walking to leave the room, but Victor stopped her.

" Mother…wait… don't leave just yet." He walked out the front door and left both of his parents in confusion.

"Are You ready Emily?" He asked her, and took her hand, but he found it shaking pitifully. He looked at her and she refused to meet his eyes.

" I-im so nervous." She said, and he pulled her into a hug.

" Oh come now…. You remember what I said… even if they don't love you, which I'm positive they will adore you… I'll still love you no matter what… their impression of you means absolutely nothing to me." He squeezed her a bit tighter then released her and he walked back and she stayed a bit behind.

" Mother….father… there's someone very special I'd like you to meet." William fixed his glasses and Nell walked up to her husband. They saw him take the hand of someone and lead her in through the door. " this….. This is my wife, Emily." Emily looked scared enough to die a second time… but still she had a gentle smile on her face. Both William and Nell advanced on Emily, and Victor gently shoved her forward so they could look at her. Nell was the first to speak.

" Ohhhh… what a lovely thing you are!" she exclaimed, gently pawing at Emily's arm. " oh don't look so frightened my ducky… I'm not going to hurt you… oh are you a pretty thing." She was sincerely bewildered by the beautiful young lady standing before her...dead as she was… Nell and William circled around Emily.

" You are quite the pretty thing Miss Emily I have to agree…" He said, unsure of how his wife would react to him saying anything.

" Oh how silly of me." She waddled over to Emily and kissed her cheek "Welcome to the family love… I'm Nell… but you call me mom if the spirit compels." Nell had the bounce back in her step and she grabbed a hold of Emily's hand.

" And I'm William… or dad… whatever works for you is fine with me Emily.

" T-thank you…" She said quietly, blushing bright as a blueberry.

" And listen to you! You sound like an angel you do." At this, Victor wrapped his arms around her from behind, making his parents even happier.

" So when did Emily become a part of our family?"

"formally…about a day and a half ago." She still spoke quietly, but soon found her place among these people, feeling the weight lift from her shoulders.

" well then you probably have much to tell… won't you join us for dinner Victor? We were just about to begin preparing it." Victor looked at Emily and she smiled.

" We'd love to." He stated.

" Wonderful! Then why don't you go show Emily around the house and we'll get right on it" Victor took Emily by the arm and they walked up the stairs together. Nell stayed back and watched the pair.

" He's afraid to even look at a woman with us… and then you leave him alone for a while and he comes back with the most gorgeous young lady I've seen in all my years… she's perfect."

" Absolutely… except for the fact that she's a bit…decayed."

" William! Don't say such things…" She smacked him tartly upside the head with her hand. "she still as gorgeous as I'm sure she ever was…that matters not as long as she's a respectable woman… she could be a live beauty or a poised skeleton... It doesn't matter as long as you're worth giving the time of day….and she's as beautiful now as I'm sure she ever was." With that they disappeared into the kitchen. Upstairs, Emily sighed with relief and her shoulders dropped as she relaxed her nerves. Victor took this moment to scoop her up in his arms… and she muttered a small "Eep!" as he did so.

" see? I told you they'd love you." He said.

" I like your parents… I'm so glad to finally have met them." The two naturally moved towards Victor's bedroom… their ideal room had a bed, or sofa, or just anywhere they could snuggle up close to each other. (I love that line… .) Victor opened the door and let Emily in… she gasped. Victor's room was a modest one, but it was quite large and well decorated, a whole bookshelf was filled with knick-knacks and books, and a desk was stationed just below the one window… the other window had a seat built into it, stuffed with a myriad of pillows…and a large teddy bear ( I had to do it w) . Emily walked in, her eyes wide with wonder, and she walked over to the sundial near the desk. She gazed wide-eyed at it, with a cute smile on her face.

" What is this?" she asked, tracing the numerals with her finger. Victor walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her.

" This, is a sundial… it's an ancient way of telling time, you see this pointy thing in the middle.

" Mmm-hmm."

" well, when the sun hits that it makes a shadow, and that shadow points to one of these numerals…therefore indicating the time.

" That's so clever…. Who made this?"

" The ancient Romans I believe." She smiled and looked at the globe, but something else caught her eye and she gasped and walked over to the desk.

" OH MY GOSH! Is this you?" She gazed at a picture of a small boy and his dog on the wall.

"Oh dear I was hoping you wouldn't see that… I hate that picture of me…"

"why ever would you hate it! Look at you! Ooh you're so CUTE!" she was squealing over the picture, and she pinched Victor's cheek… and he flushed blue with embarrassment.

"you should see my baby pi-….oh lord no."

"BABY PICTURES! Oh let me see let me see!" she was seething with excitement…and Victor smacked his forehead. Now he knew he was trapped… he walked over to his bookshelf and disdainfully pulled out a rather oversized album… he opened it and began flipping through the pages. He called Emily over when he had found the pictures he was looking for. He showed her a picture of a tiny baby, himself….

" ohhh look at you." SHe cooed, then squealed. "You're so cute!." He was blushing again. She flipped through the book gently, seeing him in all sorts of situations She laid her head on his shoulder as she was flipping, and came to a page that made Victor groan and Emily squeal with delight….his first bath. His mother was holding him in the bathtub, and he had a giant grin on his face as he was splashing around happily.

"you HAD to stop on that page didn't you." his cheeks were bluer than he ever thought possible

" oh my gosh you've got to be the cutest little baby." she squealed again, and giggled…. Victor could help but smile at his wife's happiness. After a few more minutes browsing through the album…her eye's traveled to Victor's globe…

" Oh, I used to have one of those… I don't know whatever happened to it though…" She looked a bit saddened by this, but that faded as she spun the globe. Victor had never seen anyone quite like Emily… when she saw something she was interested in, her eyes would become fixated on it… noticing everything, her mind would focus on that one object, and become riddled with questions. She spun around and moved back to the safety of Victor's arms. From his room, Victor could hear his mother call him.

" Well.. I don't know what she wants, but for all we know it could take forever… so make yourself comfortable." He kissed her and walked out of the room. Emily immediately missed his presence. She walked around the room, admiring all of her husband's personal belongings. Coming over to the desk stationed just below the window… she was just about to reach out for one of the sketchbooks when Nell's voice sounded again.

" Emily? Emily darling are you in there?"

" Yes… I'm here!" Emily ran and opened the door, she saw Nell standing outside the door.

" Well now that wasn't very nice of Victor to just rush off without you… I swear… he'd lose his head if it wasn't attached… well come with me dear there's something I simply must show you…" Emily followed obediently behind Nell, that oh so familiar nervousness washing over her again. This time, Victor was not there behind her if she made a wrong move or comment…. It frightened her…  
Nell led Emily into her bedroom, which was decorated splendidly, with a brass-framed bed adorning the wall straight ahead. Nell waddled into her room and closed the door behind them.

" Now…there's something I want to show you..." She walked over to the closet, and pulled out a long white bag. Emily sat on the bed as Nell unzipped the bag very carefully.

" Now…. I bought this a while back… knowing that I would soon have a daughter-in-law… I think it will fit you… oh I hope it does." Nell lifted the flap on the bag and pulled out a beautiful dress. It was a long dress, made of royal blue velvet. The bodice had straight lines embroidered down, and they came to a point just where the waist began. The skirt of the dress was simple, and it had an ever so tiny train. The cuffs and collar of the dress were trimmed with faux fur, pure white, and the strips trimming it were about three inches thick. Emily gasped and walked up to the dress, gently pawing at it.

" It's beautiful…."

" Well let's try it on you then… I want to see if it fits!" Nell was so excited, she ushered Emily over to the screen, and she went behind it and changed into the dress. When she walked out, Nell put a hand to her chest and gasped. The dress hugged her frame similar to the way the wedding dress did, and the collar of the dress fell just a bit off her shoulders, and it rested on her front in a V shape (the less contemporary way to say a V neck collar.) There was a slit up the left side of the dress, stopping just above her knee. Emily walked over to the mirror and looked herself over. Her eyes were wide and her smile mimicked … it had been a long time since she had seen herself in anything new. Nell was giddy with excitement as she moved over to Emily.

" Oh look 'atcha… just look 'atcha…. My dear there isn't a star in then sky as pretty as you." Emily blushed a deep blue. She couldn't say anything, so she turned her head and focused her eyes on the floor, clasping her hands in front of her and smiling shyly. Nell took Emily's chin and made her look down at her.

" Now don't you go being sheepish on me… "

" I can't help it… you do flatter me so."

" It's not flattery if it's the truth… Now you listen to me… William and I, we never thought Victor would ever find a girl of his own… well I shouldn't say that… we always knew he would… we just didn't know how long it would take, but we knew that when he did find a girl, he'd find one that was absolutely perfect… you're all we've ever hoped for and so much more." Emily blushed again and smiled.

" It doesn't even matter that I'm…well….dead and decayed?"

" why would that matter? I don't care if you're livin', dead, or some freakish mix of the two…you're a part of our family now, and we love you just as much as if you were our actual daughter." Emily smiled and hugged Nell tightly, feeling tears sting her eyelids. Nell smiled and hugged her back.

" now…if ya don't mind me askin, Love, how exactly did you die?" Emily froze in her spot, and Nell noticed how strangely Emily was acting. "what's wrong?"

" Nothing… I'd just rather tell the story when Victor is present." Emily's eyes focused on the floor again…and as if on cue, there came a knock at the door.

" Mother? Emily? Are you in here?" Emily sighed in relief as she heard Victor's voice.

" In here Victor… you may come in." Victor turned the knob and walked in, he began to walk toward Emily when he noticed her in the new dress. His jaw hung open and his eyes widened.

" Victor…? Is something wrong?" Emily asked, walking towards him.

" Emily…that dress looks absolutely gorgeous on you." He couldn't help but stare at her, but mentally slapped himself and broke his trance.

"I'm glad you like it." Nell walked past them, giggling.

"Well I'll leave my two lovebirds alone…I must go make sure your nitwit father hasn't completely desecrated the kitchen. You can tell me your story after dinner Emily… we'll all meet in the study, alright then? I'll see you in a bit.  
When Nell had left, Emily looked away from Victor, and even standing about four feet away from her, her muscles visibly tensed.

" Victor….she wants me to tell the story" Emily said, subconsciously beginning to pace back and forth, the skirt of the dress swishing as she made sharp turns. "I don't want to….."

"What story?" Emily looked at him, and her eyes said everything she couldn't at the moment. "Oh…Th-that story… so don't tell her…"

"But she's already asked me… I feel as if they have a right to know… it wouldn't be fair…. But oh I so don't want to tell it…" She began mumbling to herself almost neurotically, until Victor pulled her into his arms to stop her pacing. She seemed uncomfortable.

" Shhh…. Emily, calm down. I think my parents have a right to know however…would you like me to tell them for you? "

"No! that would make it worse…she's asked me…and she will hear the story from me…. " She shifted in his arms, still seeming uncomfortable.

" You can do it… I don't even have to put any thought into that, but you remember what I said." He kissed her cheek softly and whispered in her ear. "You can cry if you need to… I'll be right behind you….or sitting next to you…or somewhere near you." Emily Giggled and hugged him tightly. Victor silently wished they could stay like this for the remainder of the time. His mother proved that this wasn't going to be the case.

" Victor! Emily… dinner is ready!" They looked at each other, and Victor kissed Emily quickly before leading her down the stairs.  
Dinner was a merry time in the Van Dort household, and with Emily there it made it all the more merrier. William insisted on telling a few stories of Victor's childhood… one of which included Victor's seasickness. All of these stories made Victor blue with embarrassment, but Emily found them amusing and quite entertaining. When dinner was done, the dreaded subject resurfaced.  
Emily told the story slowly and gravely, making it just as bone-chilling as the night it actually happened. Emily also explained the whole incident with Victoria… but even before that Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort were ablaze with anger.

" That good for nothing bastard!" Mr. Van Dort exclaimed.

" I knew right from the start that that Barkis character was a ruddy scoundrel…you poor dear." Emily had long since retreated to Victor's shoulder, where he was stroking her cheek encouragingly. Mr. Van Dort mouthed an "is she alright?" to Victor, and he gave a slight nod, putting his nose to Emily's and bringing her eyes up to meet his. She looked at him with a sort of anguished yet relieved look. Nell walked up to Emily and put her arms around her, kissing her cheek softly.

" now don't you get yourself all worked up, Love… Come with me after we finish here… we'll go for a walk in the garden."

" y-you have a garden"  
" of course we do!" Emily seemed to perk up, and after everything was finished, Victor, Mrs. Van Dort, and a still rather disgruntled Emily. They all exited to the garden, and Victor grabbed a hold of his wife's hand

"It's over darling… now they know… are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine… thank you." She locked her arm around his elbow

Once they were outside, Emily's attitude soon faded into one of amazement. As soon as she stepped onto the cobblestone pathway her nose was filled with the perfume of many different flowers, she took it all in, and she could rule out the lilacs and the peonies. She couldn't see the other side of the garden , it was beautifully overgrown with flowers, She smiled and walked around one of the trellises, and victor followed close behind, and within minutes the two were frolicking about in the garden. Splashing each other by the fountain, running around playing tag. They had long forgotten that Nell was standing there watching them, and they eventually stopped the running and started spinning around in a wild dance. Nell walked up next to them as they got so dizzy that they fell down at her feet.

Alright you two… settle down before the neighbors hear… they'll think we've a bunch of escaped monkeys in our garden." Victor, still extremely disorientated, looked in a direction opposite his mother.

"Yes mother." Emily was lying on his lap, and if one looked close enough they would see her head rocking slightly.

"So….dizzy." She muttered, She tried to stand up, but collapsed on top of victor again, and as they sat there trying to regain their bearings. Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort watched them.

"Have you ever seen him like this William?" Nell asked her husband.

"No…. not since he was a boy."

"He's become a bit unruly..."

" He's become the boy we hoped he'd be as a child… it just took a little longer." William said defensively. Emily and Victor finally managed to stand up, and were now sitting on the bench. Emily was picking daisies that were growing out of the ground, and braiding them into a chain. She put the chain around Victor's head like a crown.

"Now announcing… the king of daisies!" Emily bellowed.

" Thank you Emily, and as my first order as king…" He took the crown off his head. "I appoint you as my queen of daisies!" he put the crown over her head…and he couldn't ignore the buzzing in his left ear. The next thing he became aware of was Emily's laughter.

"It seems you've made a friend." She pointed to victor's left, and he turned to find a rather large bee buzzing around a daisy stuck behind his ear.

"wha- Hey! Cut that out... You- you-re' tickling my ear!" He swatted at the bee as it continued to buzz around his ear, and begin writhing on the ground, laughing. He finally took the daisy out from behind his ear and threw it, and the bee followed.  
Some time later, Emily and Nell began walking around the garden, talking about the different kinds of flowers.. And Victor was about to follow, when his father's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around, and William gestured for Victor to follow. Victor walked behind his father.

"It's going to be awfully lonely without you around…" William said sadly, and Victor became a tiny bit guilt ridden. "But we'll get over it… I just want you to know…..how proud I am of you son."

"Father….?"

"You mother and I… we watched you grow up… from the little baby you were, into the exceptional young man standing right in front of me. You've had your fair share of hard times, and I think some of them contributed to your shyness… you mother and I began….and it shames me to say this… we began to lose hope of you fitting into society. We never thought anyone would accept you, simply because you were so timid… and now, you've proven to both of us that we were wrong. You've earned a father's eternal love and blessing. I feel honored to have you as a son… and I feel that I can grow old safely with someone like you watching over me…" William turned around to face his son, tears of pride lacing his eyes. Victor embraced his father tightly.

"Thank you…" he whispered (sniff sniff….) The two got into a light conversation for a good hour, when victor noticed the sun had gone down.

"It seems we've lost track of time father…. Where do you suppose mother and Emily went?

"I'm not sure son, but my guess would be they've gone back into the house." Victor and his father went into the house, and Victor was told that Emily was upstairs. He ran up the stairs, and opened his bedroom door, to Find Emily curled up on his bed, asleep. He smiled and walked over to her sleeping form. She was laying on her side, and her arms were wrapped loosely around the pillow.

"_Poor thing… you're exhausted._" He thought to himself, brushing loose strands of hair from her face. His smile widened. "you're so beautiful when you're asleep…" He said quietly, when he heard footsteps walk in.

"I thought she was awfully quiet up here…" Nell said. "She's a doll…..I take it you're spending the night then?"

"I don't think she's in any condition to go home right now." He chuckled. "But I'll have to return home and tell Mrs. Plum that we're staying."

"Tell who?"

"The lady we live with… she owns a pub, and we live in the house above it." Nell gave him a somewhat skeptical look as he walked out of the door.

Victor returned about a half an hour later. Nell and William were in the study, he could see the fire still ablaze. He walked up the stairs to find Emily still asleep. Quickly he went into the washroom and changed into his night clothes. Hanging his suit jacket on the hook, he extinguished the lamp in the room and walked towards his bed.

"Emily darling…" He whispered. Her eyes opened, but he could tell she was still asleep.

"Mmmm." Was her reply. Victor chuckled.

"I'm sorry, you looked comfortable, but why don't we move under the blankets?" He gently helped her to the bedside, and she had started to realize what was happening.

"Victor?….did I fall asleep? W-" she yawned. "what time is it? Are we home?" Her eyes were half closed in sleep. A finger to her lips silenced her.

"Shhh… I'm sorry to have woken you, Love. We're still upstairs, you did fall asleep, and it's around ten-thirty, and now I'm going to sleep too." He smiled at her as she fought to keep her eyes open.

"Okay." She mumbled. She got under the covers and rolled over. Victor climbed in next to her.

" Now you can go back to sleep… sorry for waking you." She curled up next to him and closed her eyes…and was asleep in seconds. Victor kissed her cheek softly, and it was only when his head hit the pillow, that he realized how tired he was….

A/N- WOOOOOOOOOOO! It's finally done! YAAAAAAY! I'm so sorry for takifn forever to finish this chapter…. I've just been so busy…. So yea this chappie was kinda crummy, but trust me…while I was working on this chapter… I have many many more things written and almost ready to go in…as well as another idea for a three-part chapter similar to chapter 4! So I thank you all for sticking with me thus far…..what is in store for Emily and Victor? Find out, in chapter 6 of "If immortality unveil!" until next time, this is griffin-queen saying Peace out!


	8. Halloween Haunting: Prologue

A/N: Hey all, griffin queen here. I FINALLY decided to just go with the Halloween chapter. I know it's still a big time jump, but none of my other chapters really fit, so I'm going to go with this one. I REALLY hope some of you will still read and stay with me, I know I've been a sucky updater and taken way too long to decide on this such, but I thrive on reviews. Bringing me to something I should've done quite a while ago…a shoutout to all of my amazing reviews

**Special Thanks to: Sephirotho, Coreoreo, Deyinel, Imagi, Emily van Dort, Anen Aers, Dianna, Moonchild10, Nausicaa of the Spirits, Your Excellent Co-Host, Kannalover, Elwyndra, Jareth's Genevieve, and FOREVER, Libragirl16, Hikari Chu, hopscotch maniac, TaijimaNarumi, Capt.jackSparrow13, Allura Arwen, Zoicytes-Shadow, Artist of Akatsuki, Kendra Chetnova, Myken, Alley-Oop, Sperrydee, Myou Tenshi, skrblr, xKINGxSCARx, iamhollywood, BatteredChild, Miss Violet dahl, and last but most certainly not least, Tears to Shed. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!**

Halloween Haunting: Prologue

A whole month had passed since the Visit to the van Dort's house. Emily and Victor still talked of his parents, and Emily enjoyed their company so much that they had made several more trips to see them in a month's time. On one particular sunny, yet chilly afternoon, Victor and Emily were in the kitchen washing dishes…which… more or less turned into a soap fight. Tired and full of soap, they made their way out into the lounge, where Mrs. plum was coming towards them.

"Emily, love, do you know what today is?"

" Um…Thursday?"

"yes… but it's the first of October.."

" the first of October… THE FIRST OF OCTOBER!!." she squealed in delight. " Victor it's the first of October!"

" yes I can see that… do we celebrate the first day of every month or something?" he looked confused.

" No silly… the first of October is when we start making preparations, it takes us a whole month to get ready for the second biggest celebration of the entire year, second only to Christmas… Halloween night!!"

"Oh… Halloween…. Yes." He sounded a tad bit hesitant… but Emily didn't quite pick up on it.

" Yes, You should see her Victor… she goes crazy at this party, she's always dressed up in these extravagant costumes, you'll have a blast."

"Yes, It's such fun… I don't quite remember what I was last year though."

"You wouldn't, Love…you got hit on the head by a limbo stick."

" Did I really?" Mrs. Plum nodded her head apologetically.

"Aye…and y' were a bit tipsy at the time….so tha' didn't 'elp y' none." Emily blushed.

" Sounds like fun." Victor said.

"It is! Oh let's get started right away… maybe we can even wear matching costumes!" She spun around him, and he laughed. " Let's go tell elder Gutknecht right away!" she pulled him out the door, and Mrs Plum sat shaking her head, laughing.

Emily and Victor walked down the streets of the Moor of the Mortified (I just recently learned that that is what the place is called that they live in… I have the little book thing lol) The chilly air swirled around them, and Emily shivered violently.

"It's COLD out here!" Victor took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, being thankful that he had so many layers on.

"You should have grabbed something to cover yourself with before you rushed out the door, Emily." He chuckled.

The two walked for a while, mostly in silence, taking in everything…when suddenly Victor spoke.

"so… what exactly is Halloween…?" He asked Emily, she snapped her head in his direction.

" You don't know?" She shook her head as soon as the words left her mouth… "forgive me…that sounded awfully harsh…"

" Hardly… we never celebrated it in my house."

"Oh…well… um…oh gosh I don't even know where to begin." She lowered her eyes in thought " I guess it started a long time ago, where a group of people believed it to be a very religious holiday… they called it "all Hallows Eve." and in which time the barrier between the living and dead worlds disappeared. However, that theory has long since been proven wrong, and now we just use it as an excuse to get dressed up and have parties." Emily laughed.

"what do you dress up as?"

"Any thing really… I always try to stay on the scary side though… I've been all sorts of things. I've been a werewolf, I've been… I've been an angel… and I do so wish I could remember what I was last year."

"That reminds me… how on earth did you get hit with a …."

"Limbo stick?"

"yes that….what is that?"

"it's a game… two people hold up this big heavy limbo stick, and the players have to pass under the stick… like this" she bent Backwards and limbo-ed under an imaginary limbo stick. " and the stick gets lower and lower….and apparently it was my turn to go under the stick when it was rather low…and a pile of drunk skeletons fell on the holders... brining the stick down on top of my head, and I'm guessing fell to the ground, also hitting my head….I can't remember a thing." Victor laughed., but he didn't realize where he was and smacked the side of his head on he iron gate of the elder's home.

"we're… here…" he said. And swung the gates open. Emily laughed as they began the climb to the elder's house.

When they reached the top, A flock of raven's suddenly flew at them. Victor stumbled backwards and fell off the ledge to the study. He caught it with his hand and was now pitifully hanging over the edge.

" HELP!!" he yelled, still dangling, and Emily had not noticed…

"EMILY!!" He yelled, louder this time, and she whipped her head around to find only her husband's hand visible, grasping the ledge. She gasped and ran over, extending her hands and lifting him up and away from certain doom. He was panting out of shock, and he hugged her tightly, too shocked to say anything, having just been saved from being reduced to a pile of bones broken beyond repair.

"Victor…what happened?!"

"Ravens….flew…..fell." He gasped, his gesticulations helping more than his words at this point. Emily strengthened her hug a bit… trying not to laugh…. And when he had finally calmed down, the two walked into the study of Elder Gutknecht.

"Elder? Are you around?" Emily called. And a familiar voice sounded.

"Yes yes my dear…where are you?"

"In the study." She called back ." where are you?"

"I'm in the lab." Emily took Victor by the hand and led him down a dark hallway. He became aware of a strange odor. It smelled of burning leaves and lamp oil. He noticed himself drifting away form Emily slightly, and he jogged to catch up with her. At the end of the hall there was a doorway, they stepped inside, and their eyes got smaller as the light became brighter. Victor's eyes began bouncing around the room,. The room was alight with an eerie red glow, and it revealed tens of thousands of bottles on many shelves around the room, each one glaring down at him as the light pierced it. On the far corner of the room was a desk, and in the middle was stationed a lab table, where stood the elder, grasping a flask of some sort. He walked up to them, and held the foaming flask out to Victor.

" Drink this…" he said.

"I will not!" Victor yelped, jumping back slightly. And the elder chuckled

"Ahh you're a smart lad… for you see, this particular potion…would have made you either disappear, or grow a second head… one of those, I'm still not sure which." Victor gulped, and Emily laughed.

"Elder.. do you know what today is? it's the…"

" First of October? Yes dear I know… I've already started on preparations." He said through an airy laugh.

" oh? And what have you gotten done so far?"

" Well… I've taken a census of everyone in our town… and judging by the number of bodies that may possibly be attending… we'll be hosting the party over in the field."

" which field?"

"The largest one."

"The one near the burnt part of the forest?" Emily said.

"Yes, yes that one… it should be just about the right size for everything, and It's not too terribly far away from here either…. But you two will have the chore of scouting out the place… I need a semi-detailed map so I can see what kind of space and shape we've got to work with." He handed Emily a large pad of paper and a quill pen full of a glowing red ink. He turned to Victor.

" You've not yet seen a party until you've been to one of Our Halloween parties my boy." He said, looking as sly as he could. Victor smiled, and walked out the door beside his wife.

Once they were outside, Emily shivered again.

"Before we go anywhere… we're going back home to tell them, and I'm grabbing something for my freezing shoulders." She said, and took her husbands hand.

When they arrived at the Ball and socket… the place was quiet… there seemed to be no sign of anyone… Emily and Victor Walked in. Emily went upstairs to their bedroom, and Victor waited in the foyer, another unfamiliar scent invading his nostrils. It smelled of warm apples… and cinnamon… yet somehow different from apple pie. Mrs. Plum suddenly waddled out of the kitchen.

"Hello there… where's Emily?"

" she's upstairs grabbing a coat… the elder's asked us to draw a map of the Elizabethan field."

"For the party?" Victor nodded. " Ahh.. Well… won't ya two stay for a mug of warm apple cider before ya go flitterin off again?"

"Apple cider?" Emily scared him when she called from behind.

"You've never had apple cider?" He shook his head.

"No…what is it?" The next thing he became aware of was Emily dragging him into the kitchen. Mrs. Plum poured a steaming brown liquid into two mugs. It didn't look all that appealing, but when Victor raised the mug to his lips. He was proved wrong. The sweet cider filled his chilled body with warmth. Emily had already finished half her mug, and so had Victor.

" So…?" She said looking at Him.

" I like it" She giggled as he finished the rest of it.

" Would ya like some more? There's a whole pot left." Said Mrs. Plum

"No thank you…" He said. Emily drained the rest of hers, and called a thank you to Mrs. Plum, and she walked out into the living room Victor followed her, and she grabbed something off the chair. It was an ivory white shawl, it looked to be made of wool, and it was knitted. She covered her shoulders with it.

" That looks nice and warm."

"It is… Mrs. Plum made it for me last winter."

" Can you knit?" He asked.

"I used to be able to.. But it's been so long since I've picked up the needles that I've forgotten how." Victor laughed as they walked out the door, he was happy to see Emily no longer shivering.

"So…where exactly are we going Emily?"

" This field is in a large clearing in the forest, exactly the opposite direction of our campsite. You should see how big it is…"

He kept walking, trying to imagine the size, when he felt something wet plastered to the side of his face. He shut his eyes tight, trying to erase the fact that it felt like someone's tongue on his face,

"Emily…." He said. " Wh-why are you licking my face….?"

"I'm not." She laughed… "It's just a wet leaf, silly." Victor's eyes opened, and he peeled the object in question off his face. It was indeed a wet maple leaf, brown and withered. He raised a playful brow at her, and stuck it to the side of her face, then he picked up a new leaf that was covered in frost, and he lifted up her shawl, sticking the icy leaf to her back. She yelped as she tried to remove it, but found that she couldn't reach it. Victor laughed and peeled it off of her after the ice melted against her warm skin. The two ran after each other laughing, until they came to the entrance to the forest. They walked in….

"So… how will we figure out where we're going from here."

"Easy… look." Emily led him to a tree, and etched into the tree was a tiny arrow. " We just follow the arrows." She said…and leading him down a winding stretch of forest for about twenty minutes… Victor was beginning to think that this was a wild goose chase.

"Are you positive you know where you're going?"

"Victor… trust me, I've come to this field many times before… I know exactly where we are."

" you've had parties here before…?"

"No… But when you're me… this field is the perfect place to go when you need to be alone."

"Oh? And why's that?" Her head didn't turn, but he could see her eyes look up at him, and they had an icy stare to them.

"No one can hear you…. It's wonderfully soundproofed for when you've got a lot of anger buzzing around in your head." She said blankly, and for the rest of the trip, Victor was absolutely silent. Emily gave his hand a gentle squeeze as a bright light hit his eyes in contrast to the shaded forest. "We're here" she said with a smile. Victor walked up beside her, and gasped. At the end of the forest was a large opening, and it lead to the largest flat field of grass that Victor had ever seen.

" This place is huge." He said.

" Isn't it? Perfect for a large party…. It is going to take a bit of time to map out though… I do hope you're prepared to spend a bit of time here."

" We've nothing better to do at the current point in time." He chuckled and took the parchment and quill pen from her. " Let's get started….I've always wanted to draw a map… but there were no cartographers in town…" He said as he began to draw. " this is terribly inconvenient though… shouldn't he have given us pencils? Not this pen and ink?" Emily giggled.

" you see it glowing? That's no ordinary ink… spill it out."

" b-but then we won't have it!"

" trust me…spill it out." Victor looked at the glowing inkwell and poured it onto the ground. It changed from the glowing red to an inky black as it pooled and soaked into the grass. Victor stared at it for a moment, and then jumped as the inkwell began to glow again, soon perfectly full with new red ink.

" It'll never run out…" Emily said. Victor looked at her and shook his head with a chuckle, finding nothing else to say as he dipping the pen and the ink and began drawing again.

For what felt like hours later. They had finally finished mapping out the field. It took four squares of parchment, but they had nicely drawn a perimeter of the entire place.

" Perfect…" Emily mused aloud. " We should get this back to the Elder as soon as possible. She turned to her left, to find that victor was not at her side…. But rather flopped on the ground beside her.

" A short break first… before we go rushing off to our next destination." She kneeled down at his side, and placed her hands on his stomach. A comfortable silence passed between them. After a few minutes lazily rolled by, Victor stood up and helped Emily to her feet.

" Shall we go now?" Emily asked.

" We shall." Victor offered her his arm, which she took as they exited the field into the forest. They walked back up to the elder's study, and Victor presented him with the map. The elder's slight mumbling made Victor uneasy.

" I-Is everything alright sir?" he asked.

" Everything's fine my boy…You two did a wonderful job. Now, as payment for your troubles…" His voice trailed off as he turned around at his podium, opening a cabinet and taking out a leather pouch, filling it with a handful of coins. He turned back to Victor and handed him the pouch.

" Elder you don't have to PAY us!" Victor exclaimed.

" I know I don't… I would've rather given you a more meaningful gift… but, despite the fact that I don't have the slightest clue about what to offer you at the moment… I have a strong feeling that you two will be needing that very soon, so it may be more meaningful than it seems.

" A-alright.. Thank you Elder Gutknecht." The elder smiled.

" You're quite welcome." He chuckled. " Now run along, there's much to be done." Victor smiled and walked back to Emily, taking her hand.

" Goodbye Elder Gutknecht!" Emily called.

" Goodbye my dear." He answered as he returned to his reading. Emily and Victor made their way down the arduous staircase and continued walking. During their walk home, Victor noticed how quiet Emily was being. She kept bumping into the side of his arm every so often. Victor looked down at her, and squeezed her hand a bit, trying to imagine what she could possibly be thinking about.

" Do you want me to carry you Love?" he asked after a moment, mentally kicking himself. She looked up at him.

" I was thinking about asking you… how did you know that?"

" I don't know honestly… I just had this feeling." He picked her up into his arms, kissing her cheek. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head as they continued the walk home.

Once they reached home, Emily removed her shawl and hung it on the rack behind the door. Victor took off his jacket and hung it next to her shawl.

" There y' are, welcome home Loves."

" Thank you." Emily giggled. " we were out helping the Elder today."

" Well I won't keep yeh, go on along and get yerselves settled if y' want." Victor and Emily walked upstairs to their bedroom and turned on the light. Victor smiled.

" I love our room."

" Me too, it's always so warm and cozy." Emily giggled and took her nightclothes out of the dresses on the right wall. She took off her shoes and the sock that hung around her right ankle and set them on a corner of the room.

" I never asked you about that before… why do you wear that?"

" I have to." She replied. " Unless it's a somewhat tighter shoe, or it has ties, it doesn't stay on my foot comfortably if I don't." She looked down at her feet, wriggling her skeletal toes. She paid no more thought to it as she walked back to where her nightclothes sat, reaching around and beginning to unbutton her dress, making sure she was completely turned away from Victor. Victor's cheeks were set aflame when her bare back was exposed to him. He couldn't resist walking up to her, and placing his now chilled hands on her back. Emily gasped.

" V-victor…" She shivered. " Your hands are cold." She said. He chuckled and kissed her shoulder. " c-can I finish dressing now?" She said with a nervous chuckle, her arms crossed over her bare chest.

" O-oh!….yes… I-I'm sorry…" he stepped away from her as she continued to undress. Victor couldn't help but stare at her as she did. His knees became weak as he watched her curvy body move, and when she was dressed he walked back up to her. She turned around and wrapped her arms around him.

" Aren't you going to change?"

" Of course darling." He chuckled and got his own nightclothes out, changing into them and folding his other clothes. He looked up and noticed Emily staring out the window. " What are you looking at?" He asked as he walked over to her.

" Just the stars…" Victor chuckled and walked over to the bedside tables, putting out the lamps one by one. Emily turned around as the darkness flooded the room.

" Now you can see them better." Victor smiled and returned to her side, putting a hand on the small of her back and looking out the window with her. " it's too cold to go onto the balcony?" She nodded.

" You're been awfully quiet all of a sudden Darling… is everything alright?"

" Of course love…why wouldn't it be?"

" there's something bothering you…"

" No there isn't." She was doing her best to stay composed.

" Yes there is." He barely had time to say that before she burst into quiet tears. His eyes widened and he pulled her into his arms. " W-what is it? Why are you crying?" She clung to his chest.

" I-I feel so ugly when I'm naked." She sobbed. Victor didn't quite know how to respond.

" Oh darling… you're far from ugly."

" Yes I am!" She unbuttoned her shirt. " Look at me!" Victor gasped as she opened her shirt, realizing he had never seen her naked from the front before…only her bare back on their wedding night in the forest. Tears still dripped from her eyed as she looked up at him, her torso completely exposed. Victor blushed again.

" You're beautiful darling…" He said as he stepped a bit closer to her. Her ample bosom was unscarred and unharmed by her violent death. But, as she had explained, the place where the sword had come through her was now decayed, showing her ribs. He reached out his hand to place it over the wound. " this is nothing I haven't seen before, Love…and I've seen you in a bathing suit before… do you only feel this way when you're completely naked?" She nodded. " Why?"

" I-I don't know! I can't help but feel vulnerable…"

" Barkis… h-he didn't….rape you did he?"

" No!…he didn't go THAT far… just stabbed me…" Victor was confused.

" well then why do you worry so? I think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on…" before he could think about it, he reached up and cupped her breasts in his hands. Emily gasped.

" V-Victor!!" She yelped, but did not pull away.

" shhhh…. It's okay love… I won't hurt you." he removed his hands and pulled her into his arms, denying his arousal the chance to show. " you're not ugly." he felt her re-buttoning her shirt as she stood in his embrace. He picked her up and laid her down on their bed, pulling back the blankets and crawling underneath of them, pulling her close and covering them up. He kissed her forehead, and then her lips as she looked up at him. The feeling of his lips on her brought a smile to her face.

" I love you, and you're beautiful…"

" I love you too…and as long as I'm beautiful to you… nothing else matters…" She said with a blush on her cheeks.

" You'll always be my beautiful angel, no matter what sort of monster you turn yourself into this month." He chuckled, and kissed her again as soon as her yawn ended.

" I can't wait.." She said sleepily.

" me either." He managed to mumble, before the both of them fell sound asleep.

A/N: Stay tuned for part 2!!


	9. Halloween Haunting: Creepy Concoctions

A/N: Hey all! Griffin-Queen here... FINALLY with the next installment. This has been two years, or almost two years in the making believe it or not. Lol i planned to get this chapter up the halloween of 06'... yeah... it's been a while, and I do apologize for that xD. SO anyway. I hope you enjoy it, and remember. reviews are love!

It was now three days before the big Halloween celebration. The elder sat in the lab, as Emily was thumbing through a book, her brows furrowed in deep thought. Victor was watching her, a slight smile on his face.

"Well I know what I'm going to be… Victor are you matching costumes with me?"

"sure…why not?"

"Wonderful!" she smiled and walked over to the wall filled with bottles and books. She turned back and looked at the Elder.

"May I?" She asked politely. The elder gave a small and crooked bow.

" Be my guest my dear." She smiled and turned back to the wall.. Setting her book down and grabbing many tiny bottles off the shelf. Victor walked over to her side.

"May I help?" He asked… nothing short of fascinated by this wall of bottles.

"Of course… I think I know the ingredients… you can help me find them." He smiled, and she bit her finger in thought. " ok… I think we need the bottle of boiled cat's fur." Victor winced.

"Boiled w-what?"

"Cat's fur." she said again. Victor had a strange look on his face as he climbed the stepladder, and finally he came across a small diamond shaped bottle…and to his surprise it didn't look all that bad, more or less like a strange grayish soup.

"I've got it."

"Ok… bring it here, we'll put it on the lab table." He set it on the table next to the now closed book.

"Next…?"

"Bring me a vial of snake venom… top shelf on your immediate left… but be careful not to drop it, or this whole room will smell horribly."

"What does snake venom smell like?" Victor asked, he was becoming ever more fascinated, a curious smile on his face as he listened to his wife and examined all sorts of different bottles…Pond scum puree…ground rose hips…"

"It smells like the wine of ages… you'll quickly find, Victor, that all poisons carry the same odor… although some are stronger smelling than others… I personally think that snake venom is the strongest of all…" Victor came down the ladder and handed it to Emily, who put it on a test tube rack along with two other vials she had just added.

" What are those?" he asked.

" fern spores and dirt."

"Dirt?"

"yes, dirt…Oh! I almost forgot.. You see that large pot behind you? The one with the pouring spout?" She said as she pulled the cork off of a bottle Victor turned and nodded." Stick your head in it." He looked back at her. "Why on earth do you want me stick my head in a pot?" He half-shouted.

"Just trust me." Victor rolled his eyes and walked over to the pot, sticking his head inside. Emily's voice was muffled and echoed from inside. "Ok… breathe deeply, and be honest… do you smell anything?" Victor inhaled sharply.

"No… nothing except metal."

"Are your eyes tingling?"

" Slightly…"

" do you feel light headed?"

"no." She walked over to him and put her arms around his waist.

"Ok, you can come out now." He took his head out of the jar and pulled Emily closer to him.

"So… would you mind telling me why I just had to stick my head in a pot?"

" The human body is the most sensitive testing tool. It takes human senses to determine if there are remnants of a previous potion or remedy. If there were, and we had created the potion without checking…there's no telling what the consequences would be." They were silent for a few minutes, until Emily spoke musingly. "that means I'm going to have to clean that pot out… while I do that do you think you can start finding and mixing some ingredients for me? Not the one to alter us yet… the one to change us back."

" an antidote?"

"Of sorts yes. I can read off the ingredients for you and you can mix them."

"Your trusting me with these ingredients…?" He chuckled

"of course I am… you're good at this. I asked Bonejangles to help me one year…and he dropped a bottle on my head, all I saw was a flash of green smoke…and I had thick brown hair… all over me … it was there for days until the elder found the cure." Emily shuddered. And Victor placed his arms around her waist .

"how awful." He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she laid her head back on his. The elder walked in quietly, and he put his hands shakily on his hips, and with a chuckle, he said,

"You know… if you two expect to get this done and still have time to sleep after… I suggest less cuddle time and more work time." Emily and Victor quickly broke apart, immense blue blushes across their cheeks. Emily cleared her throat.

"I-I need to clean out this pot… would you happen to have a brush on hand?"

"In the cabinet over there, next to the petrified bat wings. " She quietly made her way over to the cabinet, and the elder walked out laughing. She began rummaging through the cabinet...and she shrieked when a bucket of dried crayfish fell on her.

" g-get them off… GET THEM OFF!!" she ran over to Victor and began shaking her head violently, her long, blue hair was flipping around in every direction.

"Emily what's wrong ?" He shouted.

"They're in my hair!!" He looked at her, and saw nothing on the top of her head.

"Emily there's nothing there."

"yes there is!" She thrashed about and turned around, revealing the red crayfish tangled in her hair. Victor's hand flew to his mouth to stifle a gasp, and he wrapped his one arm around Emily's waist to stop her thrashing, and he began rubbing her stomach.

"Calm down…calm down I'll get them out." He whispered gently, she made short little whimpers as she felt his hands begin to untangle the crayfish from her hair. He picked them out one by one, never stopping the stroking of Emily's abdomen to prevent her from thrashing about. He came across one, however, that would not untangle itself. He pulled slightly. "Oh come now… get out." He muttered. Emily whimpered, and the elder came in once again.

"what is all this racket?" he said sternly, and Emily turned around to face him.

" A bucket of crayfish fell on my head!" She whined, a pained expression on her face.

" Oh the crayfish " His tone softened… " I meant to warn you about that bucket.. It was a bit… unstable… terribly sorry about that." He said apologetically, and Emily gave a sort of glare. Victor finally removed the last of the tiny shellfish from her hair, and he ran his fingers through it to make sure they were gone.

" Ok Darling they're all gone." Victor said as he continued to run his fingers through Emily's hair "Now let's get them cleaned up off the floor." Victor walked over and got the bucket and cleaned up the little halo of fish from around Emily. Once they were all cleaned up, Emily shoved the bucket up onto the top shelf of the cabinet again, making sure it was as far back as possible. She walked back over to Victor, who was examining all of the bottles and vials on the table.

" We can start mixing them now if you want…."

"Let's make sure we have everything first." Victor said, chuckling at his wife's neurotic stroking of her hair. She stopped for a minute and picked up the book. "are you sure you're on the right page? I don't' see a list." He asked, looking over her shoulder.

"there is no list… I'm making it up as I go."

"How on earth do you know what you're doing then…?"

"She has lots of experience!" The elder called from the next room. Emily smiled and put the book down.

"Ok… do we have the stewed sandalwood, the cedar bark, the orange oil…" Her list continued as Victor confirmed the presence of the item. Once they went through Emily's list, she took all of the bottles and the pot, and, walking into a small alcove in the lab, set them down on another lab table.

"Victor? Can you help me light this furnace?" She said as she illuminated a small lantern. Victor walked over and lit a match as Emily began pumping the bellows. Within minutes the furnace was nicely burning, and Victor and Emily stood over the pot. One by one they dropped and poured ingredients in until they formed a strange green soup with a pleasant yet musky odor. Victor took a large metal stick and stirred the mixture as Emily brought in a second batch of bottles, one of them clearly empty.

"Ok… We can put this over the furnace…" Emily took the pot and hooked its iron handle to the hook hanging over the furnace, and when she had finished that she took a leather bag with black powder in it. She took a small amount of the powder in between her fingers and threw it into the pot, and it brought forth a puff of smoke. She put another log on the fire to keep it burning brightly and They went back to the table and mixed the second batch of ingredients. This made a pinkish liquid, with a strong floral aroma. As they waited for the mixture to boil, they sat in the Elder's study on one of the moth-eaten couches. It wasn't until they sat down that they realize how tired they were. Emily sat down in Victor's lap and closed her eyes. He whispered in her ear, and it made her jump.

"Emily, don't fall asleep… there's still more work to be done."

"I'm so tired." She mumbled.

"I Know… but we're far from done." he gently helped her stand up. "Here, let's stand…sitting will only make it worse." She wobbled a bit, but soon walked back into the lab. The mixture was boiling nicely. Emily grabbed the empty bottle and carefully poured some of the mixture into it, returning the rest to the fire. Putting the cork securely on the filled bottle, she handed the newly bottled potion to Victor. It was a smooth green liquid still swirling with heat currents

"Now…those were the basic Ingredients, the andtidote for a male…now for me… a female…" She was mumbling to herself as she poured the pink mixture into the rest of the boiling green one. The result was a yellow flash of light, and an earthy aroma. The new mixture was bubbling furiously. Emily and Victor took it off to cool, and once it had cooled they bottled it.

"Ok.. Now we must be very careful not to get these mixed up."

"Why?"

"Well unless, when we want to change back, you want to be wearing my wedding dress, and I your suit, and have our anatomy seriously switched… I think it's in our best interest not to." Victor gave a quick glance down to his clothes, trying to imagine himself and how foolish he'd look in a wedding dress.

"R-right." He stopped when he noticed Emily trying to stifle a yawn. "Emily you're about to fall asleep where you stand…why don't we go home and sleep? We can come back bright and early to make the actual potion." Emily nodded, and they were greeted by the Elder.

"A wise idea… my Ravens would like to get some sleep as well, and it seems you are encroaching on their bedchambers." He chuckled, and they looked up into the high ceiling of the boiler room, where some ravens were all settled in for the night, and were glaring angrily at them " I'll expect you back before the sun reaches it's noontime position….which means no extra time for loafing around." He laughed. "And with that I bid you both goodnight." He waved his bony hand, and disappeared into his tower. Emily looked sleepily at Victor.

"Let's go home." she said, and Victor wordlessly hoisted her up onto his back, carrying her piggyback style down all the stairs, homebound. After reaching the ground again, she spoke. " I can walk you know." She said.

"Yes, but, I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let my sleepy lady walk all the way home would I?" She said nothing. "Just relax, maybe get some sleep, we'll be home in a few minutes. She smiled.

"I love you." She said.

" I love you too." he replied, and continued on his journey.

Within a half hour they were home again, and Victor was about to push open the doors to the Ball and socket. Emily was fast asleep on his back, lulled into sleep by the rhythmic cadence of his strides… her bony hand had itself curled around his shoulder, and her other hand rested curled against her cheek.

"Emily…." He sing-songed softly "we're home." She jumped slightly and opened her eyes.

"w-wha..?"

" we're home." She groaned and got down off his back, stretching slightly and walking in the door Victor had opened for her. Mrs. Plum was wiping the bar clean when she saw the two walk in.

"There ye are… how'd it go today?"

" Well we've got half of it done.. We're going back bright and early to finish the rest." Victor answered Mrs. Plum smiled in acknowledgement, then she caught sight of Emily. " Well somebody looks sleepy." Emily nodded and yawned. " Well I wont keep ya … go ahead upstairs and get some shut eye." They thanked her and walked upstairs, Emily flopped face first on the bed. Victor flopped also face first near her, and put a hand on her waist, getting closer so he could hear her mumbling.

"I'm so… tired….." She groaned. He rolled her over.

" you worked very hard today."

"So did you…why aren't you as tired as I am?"

" I am…but you come first." He laid down again and let her crawl on top of him.

"I don't even feel like changing into my nightclothes."

"So don't… it won't hurt us for one night… we can shower tomorrow."

"Or can we bring out swimsuits to the elder's house? I know of a hot spring not far from there."

"Alright, that's fine with me... Just don't come crying to me when it's time to get out and you freeze." Emily smiled, already looking forward to the next day. Both of them growing more weary with every word…they kissed goodnight, and wordlessly fell asleep.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for part 3! because it's on it's way!


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